A Firebender's Tail
by SpuSpu
Summary: Its been one-hundred years since the last Avatar, a firebender, disappeared, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. What will happen when two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy with pink hair frozen in an iceberg? Join Natsu and friends on their long quest to defeat the Firelord and master all four elements! Eventual main pairs, Nalu and such.
1. Chapter 1

Erza POV:

Earth. Air. Water. Fire. My mother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, currently a fire bender, mastered all four elements. Only he could stop his nation from the war. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. But I still have hope that one day, he'll return, and put an end this war.

It's been a hundred years since then. My name is Erza. My younger brother, Gray, and I are people of the Southern Water Tribe. Our father, named Silver, is a warrior of our tribe, who left with all the other men to fight in the war when we were very young, leaving our mother, Ur, to take care of us.

But not long after he left, fire benders attacked our tribe.

Coming on giant, metal warships, it seemed they had come directly from the middle of a battle. They spent several days here, capturing every single water bender we had. Soon, my brother was the only one left.

The fire benders knew there was one more bender in our tribe, so they broke into our house. Our mother hid us in the closet and told us to be very quiet. Then she ran out there, claiming that she was the water bender. She said she wouldn't go down without a fight. We heard the struggle, and the sound of a body being dragged through the snow. We didn't dare go outside, until the horn blew and the sound of the ship sailing away was off in the distance.

That was ten years ago. We've never seen our mother again.

~A Long, Long Time Ago~

Third Person POV

A small, blonde girl huffed, her brown eyes gazing out at the extensive garden laid out below her balcony. She had stood here thousands of times before, seeing the same image over and over. She leaned on the edge, her chin resting on her arms. Closing her eyes, she listened to the peaceful sound of nature working it's magic below her. The birds chirping.. the grass rustling.. and the large smack of a body falling beside her. Wait what?

A boy around her age with ruffled, pink hair and dark onyx eyes stared at her, a grin stretching from ear to ear. She tackled him, a finger pressed against her lips.

"Shhh! Do you know what my father will do if he finds you here again? He will literally kill you!" she whispered frantically, staring at the glass doors in horror.

He pouted and pushed her off of him. "He's too stupid to find me out here again. Besides, you looked bored," he replied, crossing his arms, his bottom lip puffed out.

She sweat-dropped, groaning. "Well, no one in their right mind would expect a twelve year old boy to scale a thirty-foot building," she snapped, her hands poised on her hips.

His lip puffed out even more, and he whimpered. "Luuuuce, I thought we were friends. Are you saying you don't like it when I come?" he asked, frowning.

Lucy sighed, then waved her arms around in defeat. "I'm just worried about it Natsu.." she mumbled, looking at the ground.

He grinned again then grabbed her arm. "That old man couldn't catch me if I stood right in front of him," he scoffed, leading her over to the wall. "Now let's get out of this stuffy place!" He let go of her and began to climb down. Within thirty seconds, he had climbed down to the bottom, looking up at her expectantly.

"Okay okay, Spider Man," she muttered, sending one foot over the ledge. He flashed her a toothy smile.

"Spider Man is overrated. Igneel is where it's at!" he said, pounding his chest with his fist. His eyes shined with pride, thinking about his dragon. She rolled her eyes, snorting.

She tossed her other leg over and reached out for the ledge below the windowsill. She looked down to see Natsu staring up at her with wide eyes. With horror she realized she was still wearing a dress. "Quit staring at my panties!" she hissed, and he averted his gaze. She began to make her way down again. About halfway there though, her hand slipped and she let out a small squeal. She held on to a ledge with one hand.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted quietly, his gaze turning back to her. "Can you get back up?" She shook her head.

"I-I think I'm slipping!" she whispered, clutching onto the ledge for dear life. Natsu's voice rang out from below her, a bit louder this time.

"Here - I'll catch you!" he said, his arms outstretched. Her eyes widened and she shook her head frantically.

"What? No! I'll fall!" she yelled, trying desperately to swing her arm back onto the ledge to no avail.

"Luce, do you trust me?"

"What?"

"I said do you trust me?" Natsu yelled up.

"Y-yes, of course I do!" was his answer. Lucy's eyes were closed tightly.

"Then jump!"

"But I-"

"JUST DO IT!" he yelled, his arms still outstretched. She looked at him frantically then closed her eyes once more, dropping from the edge. She let out a shrill shriek as she plummeted in the air. 'What if he doesn't catch me?' she thought, waving her arms around. Warm arms wrapped tightly around her and she let out all her breath. She could feel his hot breath on her neck. Natsu set her onto the ground and grinned. "I told you I would catch you."

She huffed, crossing her arms. Shouts came from behind them. Natsu cursed and grabbed her arm, running to the closed gates. They stopped short of the giant metal doors. Natsu's cheeks puffed up and he let out a stream of fire against the cold metal. But it held strong. Natsu turned around to see a very agitated man staring them down, with bodyguards lined up behind him, spears raised. The man's, known as Jude, nostrils flared.

"Lucy! How many times have I told you that this.. street-rat isn't allowed to set foot on this property?!" he bellowed, an accusing finger extended towards Natsu.

He and Lucy were part of the Heartfilia family, one of the richest families in the entire fire nation. Their manor stretched across acres and acres of land, and Jude didn't take kindly to trespassers.

"Natsu isn't a street-rat! He's my friend and I don't give a crap about your stupid rule Father!" she yelled back at him, in a very unladylike way. She had done things like this many times before, and it never went well. But she didn't care at the moment. He stormed towards them.

"How dare you talk back to me!" Jude shouted. "I am your father and you will listen to me!" He raised his arm, sweeping it down to slap his daughter. A burst of fire swept in between them, causing him to roar in agony, clutching his burnt hand. Natsu appeared in between them, his arms raised protectively in front of Lucy.

"You're a terrible father," he spat, his voice raised. "You don't deserve to have someone as nice as Lucy!" Lucy's cheeks began to grow red. Jude stumbled back, before yelling to the people behind him.

"Guards, kill this trespasser!" he roared, and they surged towards Natsu. The closest one jabbed his spear towards Natsu, but Lucy stepped in front of him.

"Father, STOP!" she screamed, and the guard stumbled back. Jude ripped the spear out of his hands, snarling at his daughter.

"YOU WILL RESPECT ME!" he shouted, slashing her across the arm. She shrieked, blood beginning to pour out of the wound. She stumbled back, and her father raised the spear once again. Natsu stepped in front of her, growling at her father.

To say that he was pissed off would be an understatement. He yanked the spear from him savagely and snapped it in half. Then, in a voice that sounded much older and wiser than his own, he whispered. "I'm fired up now."

He floated up in the air, staring at her father at eye level. His skin and eyes began to glow a pale blue. Mounds erupted all around them. And from those mounds, fires spewed out. They surrounded Jude and the mansion. He looked at Natsu in fear, and with a raising motion of his arms, the fires shot into the sky.

They swirled in a circle above them, then dropped directly onto Jude and the mansion. Lucy looked up, her eyes wide. Jude's screams were drowned out by the inferno, and the house caught fire quickly. Flaming rubble began to fall everywhere, and the sky turned orange and black in color. Lucy ripped up her dress, hastily wrapping it around her arm.

She ran towards the floating Natsu, who was adding more fire to the destruction, even though half of the house had already caved in. Lucy tried not to look at the crumpled and blackened form of her father, tears stinging her eyes. She grabbed his wrist, and he turned to her, his face expressionless. She pulled him down.

"Stop.. Please Natsu," she whispered, pulling him into a hug. He shuddered, and his glow slowly faded. He dropped into her arms, and the mounds sunk into the ground, the fires ceasing. The damage was done, however, and the Heartfilia mansion lay in ruin. He groaned.

"Ughh.. What happened?" he asked groggily, blinking. Lucy sighed in relief, heaving him onto her back.

"I'll tell you later," she replied, and he nodded, falling asleep quickly. She grunted and began to walk away from the ruins of her old home.

~Five Years Later~

"C'mon Luce! Hurry!" A teenage Natsu ran down the snow covered hill, dragging Lucy along with him. Bursts of fire shot over their heads as they tumbled down the hill.

"Slow down Natsu! It's not like they're gonna catch up anyways!"

Lucy replied. They hit the bottom and broke into a run across the snowy plain.

"Avatar Natsu! Stop running!" A gruff, male voice sounded from behind them. Several more bursts of fire flew by their heads.

Natsu replied by turning around and making an upwards sweep with his leg. A large burst of fire flew out, and hit the fire coming towards them, blowing up in mid-air. Several 'gahs' were heard from behind them.

"In your dreams, metal-heads! There's no way I'm going back to that old man and his cruddy army!" Natsu shouted. He continued running, now with a childish grin.

"But the fire nation sure is persistent, huh? I mean, tracking us all the way to the South Pole and all," Lucy muttered. "I don't see why we're running, we could just take them out and be through with it."

"Nah, that just ruins all the fun, Luce. Besides, gramps told me not to, that would make the firelord hunt us down more. I don't want to get you anywhere near them," Natsu replied, still smiling at her.

She looked down at her running feet, a tint of pink now on her cheeks. Suddenly, a roar sounded in the snow covered air above them. A red fire dragon swooped down and flew by them, it's massive wings beating the snow away.

Natsu's grin grew wider. "Igneel! What took you so long, buddy? I was starting to think you wouldn't show."

His question was answered by a playful growl, and the large beast kept afloat, but lowered a wing next to the running duo. Natsu grinned even more, and climbed onto the wing. He held out his hand to Lucy, who grabbed hold, and they both climbed onto a saddle on the dragon's back. With a flap of his mighty wings, Igneel soared into the snow covered sky. The shouts from behind faded away, and soon the running figures grew to little specks in the distance.

~A Few Days Later~

Third Person POV

Thunder and rain clashed against the now-soaked dragon. Natsu and Lucy huddled together against the saddle, trying to keep dry. But they still smiled. After the storm passed, they were home free. They could start new lives, away from the fire nation.

"Hey Natsu?" Lucy asked. Her voice wasn't very loud, but it didn't need to be, since Natsu had sensitive hearing. He was raised by Igneel after all.

"Yeah?" Natsu's voice yelled back, trying to talk to her over the rain.

"I just.. I wanted you to know I-" Lucy's voice was cut off by a sudden crack of lightning right next to the dragon. Igneel roared in agitation and plummeted towards the sea below. Natsu and Lucy began to panic, clutching onto the sides of the saddle.

"Igneel?! Hang on, buddy!" He said, trying to grab onto the reins. He was interrupted by a scream below him.

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed, who had fallen off the saddle and tumbling towards the clashing sea below.

Natsu stopped and without thinking, dove off of Igneel towards his friend. "LUCE! HANG ON!" He shouted, diving through the air. He caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It'll be okay Luce," he whispered, holding her head to his chest and turning to face the sea below. They hit the water, and began to sink. Lucy's body pressed tightly against him, and a dark shape above them confirmed that Igneel had fallen in as well. Natsu's eyelids fluttered, and he began to fall unconscious. The last thing he remembered was seeing a strange, blue light, before darkness.

What someone would have seen, had they been out in that dreadful storm, would have astonished them. As soon as he lost consciousness, Natsu's eyes and skin radiated a pale blue light, and his arms turned, as if bending. A thick, icy shell formed around the three bodies, and soon, it completely encased them. The ice began to glow softly, then grew pale again, and sunk deep to the bottom of the ocean.


	2. Chapter 2

Erza and Gray, now teenagers, sat silently in a thin canoe drifting aimlessly near the frozen tundra. Erza's arm was poised, holding a long, sharpened spear towards the water. Her eyes scanned the dark, freezing water for signs of movement.

Gray sat on the other end, weaving his hands around in various motions. Ice spikes would jut out of passing icebergs, and slowly form into delicate statues. First a polar bear dog, then an otter penguin. They were beautifully crafted, and each detail was precise and accurate. Finally he made a statue of a woman with a head too large for her body, and her face was carved to be scary like a monster.

Gray grinned and looked at his sister. "Hey look Erza, I made you-" He was cut off by the thud of a spear impaling the statue in the forehead, causing it to crack and shatter. Gray turned, now quite scared, to face his sister. A dark aura now surrounded her, and she smiled at him devilishly.

"That's not supposed to be me, right?" She asked, glaring at her brother. Her hand rested on a katana on her belt.

"Erm, n-no, not at all!" Gray stammered, covering his head with his hands. "Please don't kill me," he whimpered. Erza pulled him into a hug and patted his head. Her aura disappeared.

"That's good. You know, you're getting pretty skilled with your sculptures. Most water benders start off with - well, water first, but you've already gone ahead and taught yourself how to use ice too," she praised, smiling. Gray smiled at her, his fear ebbing away slowly.

"Thanks," he replied softly, standing back up again.

The boat lurched and Erza stood up as well. "It seems we're hitting the currents. Gray, try to steady the boat while I steer," she commanded, rushing to the side and swiftly maneuvering the lever attached to the back end of the canoe.

Gray threw off his shirt and took a deep breath. Then, with a movement of his hands, forming an upside down 'v' shape, the currents split around the boat and it dropped to its normal pace once again. Erza sighed and the boat landed softly on a patch of ice.

"Hang on, lemme fix that," Gray said quickly, making a pushing motion with his arms, causing the ice to break away. It moved away quicker than he thought, however, and crashed into several other blocks. It hit a huge chunk, which cracked, and fell into the water. Erza and Gray ducked. Suddenly, a blue light shone from the water, and something began to rise out.

"Look out!" Erza shouted, and they both lept out of the canoe onto a block of ice, before the rising thing smashed their canoe to pieces. The thing continued to rise, then stopped suddenly and floated on the top of the water. Erza caught her breath. "No way.."

A large, sphere of ice was floating in front of them. It was glowing a faint blue. Gray blinked and realized what made Erza gasp, and his eyes widened. Inside the ice were three figures. One was sitting with his fists touching, his eyes glowing blue. Another figure was holding onto him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. The strangest, was the one above them. It looked like a giant sleeping lizard, curled up around the pair. Gray and Erza both stared at the ice for a second, not sure what to do. Then they both decided.

"We need to help them. C'mon Gray!" Erza grabbed her katana from her belt and ran across the icebergs to the icy shell. Gray nodded and grabbed one of her spears. They both stopped in front of the massive structure. Then they nodded to each other and began to swing at the ice.

"Almost.. there," Gray grunted. After a minute or so of swinging, a crack formed in it. It extended all the way to the top, and steam began to pour out. Gray covered his head, but still watched the scene unfold before him. The ice split in two, and a blue beam of light shot up into the sky. The sky filled with a light blue color.

At the same time, at various places around the world, people saw that same blue light. At one temple, on a certain island on a volcano, a statue of a tall man with a long gray beard lit up. His eyes grew the same, pale blue and a man dressed in red clothes gasped. He shouted down the corridor to another like himself. "Send a messenger hawk to Firelord Ivan! The avatar is alive!"

The ice had finished splitting, and the glow faded. It had become morning, and light illuminated the figures in the remains of the shell. Strangely enough, the area around the figures was warming up rapidly. Gray and Erza climbed over the edge of it, and looked at the figures below. There was a teenage boy, with spiky, ruffled pink hair. He was wearing a black vest with orange edges that exposed his chest, and a weird, white-black checkered scarf. He also had long white pants and black sandals. Laying next to him and holding his hand was another teenage girl with long blonde hair and a pink and white striped shirt, with light gray jean shorts and combat boots. On her side was a belt with a brown whip attached. "Woah," Gray and Erza both said at the same time. Curled around the duo was a large, red dragon with wings larger than its body and curled horns. "Is that a friggin dragon?!" He yelled.

The boy shot up, causing Gray and Erza to nearly slip off the rounded edge of the ice. He looked around. "H-huh? Where am I? And why is it so freaking cold?" He shouted, looking around. Then his eyes landed on his friend. "Luce!" He shouted, turning to her frantically. He started to shake her, and she coughed, sitting up suddenly, hitting her forehead onto his.

"OW!" They both yelled. Then they became aware of the two people staring at them, dumbfounded. They stared at each other for a second. Then Gray broke the silence.

"Is your hair pink?"

Natsu frowned. "It's SALMON. And where the heck did your clothes go, you perv?"

Gray looked down at his torso. "W-when did this happen?!" He yelled, and scrambled around, before finding his shirt and quickly slipping it on. Lucy's mouth was agape, but she shook it off and quickly recovered. "Oh, sorry, we should introduce ourselves," she said, pulling Natsu up. "My name is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, bowing. "And this is my partn- my friend, N-."

Natsu cut her off by clearing his throat. "Name's Natsu Dragneel," he replied, eyeing Gray suspiciously. "And who the heck are you?"

A vein bulged on Gray's forehead. He already disliked this pink-haired idiot. "I'm Gray Fullbuster, and this is my sister Erza Scarlet." Erza nodded, and waved her hand.

Natsu looked at him, confused, and even more suspicious than before. "How can ya be siblings with different last names?"

Gray's eye twitched. "Now you listen here-"

He was cut off by Erza's hand on his mouth. She was calmly listening to what they had to say, and didn't want her idiotic brother to be rude. "It's complicated. We have the same parents, I just prefer to use a different name," she finished, not wanting to say anymore.

Lucy smiled, thinking about how much they reminded her of her and Natsu. Then Natsu cleared his throat. "Well now that we're all buddy buddy, mind telling us where the heck we are?" He demanded bluntly, making Lucy sweatdrop. Gray answered, obviously irritated.

"Well pinky, we're smack dab in the middle of the South Pole. I don't see how you couldn't realize that.." He muttered after, causing a vein to bulge on Natsu's forehead as well.

Lucy blinked and nodded. "Ah, I remember. We were flying and then that lightning hit.. and we fell into the sea," she winced, rubbing her temples.

Erza nodded, wordlessly studying them. Then she blinked and sighed. "Gray and I found you two frozen in this block of ice."

Gray raised an eyebrow and nodded quickly. "Which brings up the question, how exactly did you get trapped in the ice? Are you fire nation spies?" He asked, looking over Natsu.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and both he and Lucy shook their heads quickly. "What? No, we aren't. Well I mean I'm a fire bender, b-"

"You're a fire bender?" Gray yelled, going behind Erza and pushing her forwards, practically growling and spitting out the word fire bender.

Erza sighed, but seemed more cautious now. "Gray, that's jumping to conclusions. You know as well as I do that not all firebenders are bad."

"B-"

"No buts," she replied, turning to the others. "Tell me though, if you're a fire bender, what on earth would you be doing at the South Pole?" she asked, her tone a bit more ominous now.

Lucy scratched her head. "Well, you see, it's kind of a long story. Natsu and I kind of left the fire nation, and they were after Natsu so they chased us down here," she said, watching Erza.

Natsu nodded, and scowled at Gray. "Stupid fire lord trying to get me to join the military. You should have seen what he did to try to get the Ava-" Lucy slammed her elbow into his ribs, giving him a quick glance saying 'shut up'. Natsu let out a soft 'ow' and frowned at Lucy as Gray and Erza continued to study them. He was about to say something important, and they were going to find out what. But Lucy cleared her throat. "I just realized, you must have been the people who got us out of the ice, right? Arigato!" She said, bowing, and elbowing Natsu again to do the same.

Erza studied them for a bit longer, then sighed. "You're welcome, it was really no problem," she said, smiling. "It's nice to see some people disagree with how the fire nation is dealing with things."

Natsu and Lucy nodded, grinning to each other.

Gray finally sighed, and shrugged. "All right," he said, waving his hands. "I still don't know if I trust you completely, but if Erza's okay with it, I'm okay."

Lucy put her hands at her sides and bowed yet again. "Thank you!"

Natsu grunted in response then looked away. They stood there in silence for a bit then a low growl sounded from behind them. Igneel stood up and stretched, smoke shooting out of his nostrils. Natsu giggled like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Igneel! You're finally awake!" He yelled, tackling the dragon in a hug. The dragon rolled onto his back in response, and Natsu splayed out on his stomach. Lucy chuckled, then turned to the siblings.

"Igneel raised Natsu, so they're really good friends," she said, looking back at the two. Erza smiled, saying that was sweet, and Gray just let out a 'tch' before turning away.

Natsu smiled at them "Wait till you see him fly!" He squealed, rolling back into the snow.

Gray snorted. "A big lug like that? I don't think so."

"Igneel's not a big lug! Besides, he has wings. What do you think those are for, swimming?" Natsu retorted.

"Yes," came his reply. Lucy sighed at the two. Erza looked at the sky, it was already nearing noon.

"Well, seeing as you guys are in the middle of nowhere, why don't you come back to our village?" Erza asked, deciding she liked these two, at least for the moment.

"Okay!" Natsu piped in.

Lucy nodded. "If that's not too much trouble, that is."

Erza shook her head. "No trouble at all. Right Gray?" She said, sneaking a glance at him.

"Aye!" He replied, his voice several octaves higher than usual. Natsu sniggered, but was instantly silenced by a glare from the red demon. Lucy simply nodded another thank you, and they climbed out of the shell, jumping from iceberg to iceberg to the mainland.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hay guys, SpuSpu here. I hope you enjoyed chapter 2. Sorry I couldn't update sooner, I've been very busy lately. I just want to clear a few things up about this story. This'll be my main focus for the future, and I'll make updates roughly every week. So far, the events in this story have followed that of ATLA, but I'll add in other chapters and such as well. Some things will be considerably different, seeing as this is the Fairy Tail crew. I will have most, if not all of the guild members appearing later on in the story, and they'll each help the team in some way. I also have some ideas for this story, but since I am a new author and this is my first fanfic, I'm completely open to plot suggestions and critique from you readers. Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed, leave a review :D<strong>

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 4: A Century Between Us

Natsu groaned for the millionth time. "Are we there yet?" Lucy punched his arm playfully, her eyebrows scrunched together. Natsu whined at her 'meanness' and glanced behind them. The siblings had retreated a few paces behind, and were whispering things to each other. Natsu turned back towards Lucy, who was walking silently beside him. He nudged her, smiling. She blinked and the corners of her lips curled up, appreciating her friends dorkiness. He rubbed his back, wincing slightly at the soreness.

Gray perused over the pair of weirdos laughing to each other in front of him. He huffed and crossed his arms behind his head. "Erza, how do you know we can trust them? We found them in a friggin _iceberg. _Last time I checked, people weren't frozen into perfectly spherical ice balls that glow."

Erza didn't respond for a while. Then she sighed and looked at her brother, obviously wanting to dismiss the subject. "I know how you feel about the fire nation, but we can't expect they'll be like the rest of their nation. You saw how they reacted to us. Didn't seem very threatening, did they?" Gray shrugged and nearly crashed into Natsu, who had stopped abruptly in front of him. He was about to make an insulting remark, before noticing the small village below.

He sighed, glowering coldly at the dimly lit town. "Welcome to the southern water tribe. Home Sweet Home, as nobody calls it," he said sarcastically.

Erza nudged him. "Don't mind Gray. It's kind of dull and bleak here, especially since our father left to the war, but we get by."

Lucy nodded, understanding the pain of losing a family member. Then she frowned. If the other nations had to draft in the water benders all the way from the south pole, the war must've gotten worse. She and Natsu may have been on the run, but they would have heard about something like that."Gray?"

Gray looked at her, still scowling after thinking about Silver. "Hm?"

Lucy blinked, then stared back up at him. "Erm.. How long ago was it that your father went off to war?"

Gray stuck his hand out and ice flakes swirled around his fingers. "Around twelve years ago. Erza and I were both only six years old then. One morning I was out fishing when I saw the boats. I ran to the docks as fast as I could, only to see him step onto the deck. He looked back at me then. Said he was doing it for us, and for the village. He sailed away, left me crying on the pier," Gray spat out the last words, and the icicles fell to the ground. Lucy was silent for a long time. They stopped at the entrance to the village. Lucy looked up at Gray.

"I get it. My dad was a huge ass too."

Gray smirked. "Small world, hm?" Lucy laughed and stretched her arms, realizing how sore they truly were. Erza was the first to step inside the walls surrounding the village.

"Hello everyone! Gray and I are back," she announced, looking around. Lucy stepped closer to Natsu, who was grinning at a kid hiding behind his mother. Lucy tried to inconspicuously look around the village. She had heard plenty about the southern water tribe from school in the fire nation, but even so, she was.. underwhelmed. Around eleven or so huts constructed of ice and snow packed together outlined the town, and small walls about four feet tall ran in between the houses and the sea. Small fires were set up near the middle of the tribe, and women and children were quietly looking at the newcomers. Erza smiled, but Lucy could tell it was a cold and pitying smile. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Lucy, Natsu, and, well, Igneel," she said, gesturing to them. Mutters were heard when they laid eyes on the fire dragon. Natsu stood in front of him protectively.

A voice called out. "Erza! Gray! Is that you?" An elderly woman with pink hair strapped up into a bun and a long, red robe stepped out of one of the huts. Erza smiled, a real smile this time. "Hello Porlyusica. We caught some food for you."

Porlyusica wrinkled her lip. "Yes, and I see you've also brought some people. As if we needed any more." She added silently. Gray shrugged.

"We didn't mean to catch them, I mean, they kind of just came with us."

Natsu crossed his arms, muttering. "Ice-freak's lucky I didn't blow him off the side of the iceberg after what he said about my hair."

"What was that, Pyro?!" Gray shouted back, butting his head into Natsu's.

"I said you need to stop taking your clothes off, Snowman!" Natsu yelled, ramming his head back into Gray's.

"Shut up, flame-brain! If it wasn't for you almost shoving me into Lucy, we would've gotten here ages ago!"

"Well at least I don't have a stripping problem, Pervert!"

"Well at least I'm not a reject from the fire nation!" Gray shouted, and he regretted saying it right away. Everyone began to cower in fear.

"Gray, is that man from the fire nation?" Porlyusica asked 'calmly', gripping her cane tightly, her gaze hardening on the pink-haired idiot before her.

"Erm no.. I mean yes.. Erza?" Gray said, hiding behind her.

Erza sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well I don't have anything important to do- or anything to do at all, so why don't you come explain it to me?" She asked, opening the curtain to one of the igloos behind her. Erza nodded, and gave Gray the if-you-do-anything-so-help-me-I-will-end-you look, before walking inside. Gray looked at everyone else and scowled. "Look, Pyro's not gonna try to kill anyone so why don't you just butt out?" Everyone quickly turned away.

A young girl walked up to Gray and tugged on his underwear, since his clothes had mysteriously disappeared again. Gray looked down and his face morphed into a kind, gentle one. Smiling, he asked "What is it Asuka?"

The little girl, Asuka, looked up at him curiously. "Can we play with the bug lizard please?" She asked, looking at Igneel longingly. Gray turned around to ask Natsu, but sweat dropped when he saw him with half of the kids in the village, picking them up and letting them slide down Igneel's tail. Asuka giggled and ran past Gray. He and Lucy walked over to Natsu. He looked up, with his signature grin plastered onto his face, and yawned.

"Hey Ice-boy, got any food?" He asked, scratching his neck. Gray's eye twitched and he crossed his arms.

"None for you, Matchstick. We could go catch some fish, but that's all you're gonna get."

"Luuuuuuce, Snowflake's being mean again," Natsu whined, putting his arm on Lucy's shoulders. Lucy huffed and pushed him away.

"They let us come to their village, Natsu. The least we could do is go get more food," she said, poking him. After several minutes of arguing with Natsu, the trio agreed, and walked out of camp back into the snowy wasteland.

About an hour later, they came upon a herd of otter penguins. "Oooooh, I've read about these! They're so cute!" Lucy exclaimed bending down a few feet away from one. Natsu looked at them, uninterested. His stomach growled even more.

"Can we eat them?" He asked, ignoring the shock on Lucy's face. Gray face palmed.

"No you idiot. Trust me, I had part of one when we had a food shortage, and I couldn't stand up for a week," Gray retorted, shuddering at the memory. "But-" he added with a sly smile "-they are good for penguin sledding."

Both Natsu and Lucy perked up at this idea, so Gray picked up a leftover fish from the ground and let out a low whistle. Flocks of five at a time waddled over to him. "First, you lure them towards you," Gray started, holding the fish out of reach. "Then, you grab them!" He yelled, and snatched one by the flipper before it could get away. Natsu and Lucy followed his instructions. Within moments the trio had gotten the penguins on their bellies and were zipping down the hill. Natsu and Gray pulled ahead, bumping into each other occasionally and shouting insults. Then Lucy came out of nowhere standing on two, and rode them like roller skates over a ledge, flying over Gray and Natsu. A few minutes later, they all rolled to the bottom of the hill, laughing. "Luuuuuuce," Natsu whined after he finished laughing. "I could've beaten Popsicle."

Gray scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Please, I was beating you by a mile, Candle-boy."

Lucy fell in the snow and rolled around. "Whatever, we all know who the true penguin sledding champion is!" she yelled, pumping her fist. Gray and Natsu mumbled, and they all sat quietly at the bottom of the hill. Natsu was looking around the snow covered area until he saw what looked like a metallic stick in the distance.

"Hey Gray, what's that?" He asked, standing up and pointing at it. Gray and Lucy stood up. Gray's eyes widened.

"Pyro, you aren't allowed to-"

"Hey I see it too!" Lucy shouted, cutting him off. She and Natsu both raced away towards it. Gray cursed silently.

"No! Guys, stop! We aren't allowed to go over there!" Gray yelled. But it was too late. Natsu and Lucy looked at the wreckage below them. Lucy caught her breath and Natsu's eyes widened, but not in curiosity. He turned to Gray.

"Gray. What is this?" He asked, his tone dangerously low. Gray looked at it and sighed. It was a large, metal ship with the fire nation flag on the hull, beached on its side with snow covering the starboard side of it.

"That," Gray muttered. "Was the first fire nation war ship to attack the South Pole."

Lucy and Natsu exchanged glances.

"W-warship?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide. Natsu's fists clenched. Gray looked at them curiously.

"I remember the fire lord showing us the blueprints for those. I was there, when he smiled and talked about all the carnage he could cause to the nations with these things. That was a few days before I left. But this-" Natsu said, waving his hands around. "-is unforgivable. I didn't think he would actually attack the nations, I thought he was just bluffing."

Gray listened to what Natsu said, surprised that he was there when the fire lord revealed such plans. He must have been a high ranking soldier in the military, so it made sense that the fire lord was pissed that he deserted the army. But one thing didn't add up.

"Natsu-" Gray said, turning to him. But Natsu wasn't there. He and Lucy were running down the hill towards the ship. Gray cursed again, verbally this time, before hurrying after them.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Gray hissed angrily, as he entered the boat, looking for them. The air in here was thick, and much warmer than the outside, so Gray lost his shirt once again. He heard noises down the hall and he quietly slipped down. After poking his head into a doorway, he saw Lucy and Natsu staring up at a painting. It was a painting of the fire lord, fire lord Ivan. It was crude, and had obviously been tampered with in some way, but the same, malicious face remained. Strangely, Lucy and Natsu seemed confused.

"Gray, who is this?" Lucy whispered, staring up at the canvas. Natsu's hand gripped her arm tightly.

Gray leaned against the wall. "Firelord Ivan," he replied, staring up at the sneering man.

Lucy stiffened next to Natsu, and his knuckles turned white. "Gray, Hades is the Firelord, isn't he?"

Gray blinked in confusion. Yes, Hades was the Firelord. Once. But he had died over ninety years ago. "Lucy, Hades is dead."

They were silent for a long time. They may have been trapped in an iceberg, but not for very long.. Right? Lucy finally looked up at Gray, whispering. "Gray, Natsu was at a meeting with Hades only a few months ago. How long ago did Hades die?"

Gray suddenly realized what had happened. Bangs covered his eyes. Natsu turned around, his eyes slit. "Gray," he yelled. "WHEN DID HADES DIE?"

"Ninety years ago."

The truth hit them like a truck. A quiet noise that sounded somewhat like a wail and a sob combined escaped Lucy's lips. Natsu pulled her into a hug and started stroking her hair. Gray continued, even though his eyes were widened in shock. "Not only that, but you said you saw these ships before they were built, right?" He whispered. Natsu nodded dully, staring at his partner. "He finalized the idea ten years before his death, and made an armada of ships for the war."

More silence. That made the grand total at least a hundred years. A hundred years they would never, ever be able to get back. A hundred years their friends had lived full lives and were now dead or dying. A hundred years they had been frozen in time, while time continued ticking.

It was a long, long time before anyone spoke again. Lucy had several friends in the fire nation, even after they left. Hearing that they were all either dead or dying would make any same person break down into tears. And for Natsu, it was even worse. Unbeknownst to Gray, he felt guilt. He felt tons and tons of guilt weighing him down. One hundred years he had been unable to preform his duty as the Avatar. He had failed the world, and let the fire nation take countless lives in a war that wouldn't have happened, had he been there to stop Hades. Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu, and they hugged each other. Gray didn't stop them. Eventually, it was Lucy who spoke up. "Well, moping around here won't do us any good, right?" She sniffled, looking at Natsu. He nodded wordlessly, his eyes clouded with hundreds of different emotions. Grabbing her hand, he agreed.

"C'mon Luce, let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Well that was somewhat dramatic, wasn't it? I'm not going to lie, I suck at writing emotions, so I feel like I butchered this moment a bit. Honestly, I'd like to apologize to you guys for the loss of description in this chapter. R.I.P. Hopefully the next few chapters will be better! There's a fight scene coming up kind of soon, so look forward to that! At least I uploaded a chapter a day early. But yee, if you have any critiques or ideas, I always read reviews! As always, I hope you enjoyed reading!<strong>

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	4. Chapter 4

Unbeknownst to the crew, a predator was lurking nearby. A large ship, almost a replica to the beached one found by them was sailing through the arctic, dangerously close to the village. A blood-red flag with the fire nation emblem imprinted in black was draped over the hull, and the smokestack was spewing out black chunks of smog. On the deck of this boat stood two very important people. The older one, a small, old man with a balding head sat on a chair, fanning himself. He wore a Hawaiian styled floral shirt with black shorts, and black sandals. At the moment, he was barking commands to the younger one, who was in the midst of a sparring match.

The younger, who was built out of several layers of muscle and had a strange lightning-shaped scar over his right eye, flipped over his opponents without much effort and won the match quickly. A permanent scowl was set on his face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his bluish black pants, his red belt jangling as he did so. He strode over to the starboard side of the boat, his furry gray coat and collared purple shirt flapping out behind him. Retrieving the sound pods from the desk beside his lounging grandfather, he pushed his hand through his spiky blonde hair and glared at him.

"I've been through this training sequence for _weeks_ Makarov," his tone was cold, and it showed only hints of warmth to it. "I'm perfectly capable of taking on some feeble old man." He reached across the table to pick up a long, bronze telescope with a clear glass lense. His dark blue eyes scoured the icy terrain before him, searching for anything at all. Makarov sighed and stood up, crossing his hands behind his back.

"You're being irrational, Prince Laxus. The Avatar may be an old fool like myself, but he is a master of all four elements. You mustn't underestimate your opponents," he coughed, looking up at his grandson. "Besides, you've spent three years trying to track him down, and he's been missing for over a hundred years. The chances that you'll find him are very slim indeed."

Laxus's nostrils flared and he turned to his grandfather angrily. "I don't care!" he shouted, pushing the table next to him over. His grandfather looked up at him sadly. He closed his eyes and sighed, his voice lowering. "Look Grandfather, we're closer than we've been in a long time. I can feel it."

* * *

><p>Lucy, Natsu and Gray walked mutely to the large hole gaping in the side of the ship. Lucy was still firmly squeezing Natsu's hand. No one had said anything in a while, and no one wanted to. But as they reached the entrance, and sunlight poured out over their heads, Gray turned to them, sighing. He picked up his shirt from earlier and twirled it around his index finger.<p>

"Look guys, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how hard this must be for you to handle," he said, leaning against the wall. He still couldn't believe it. I mean, sure, they lived in a world filled with people who could make earthquakes and hurricanes, but being in a suspended state for over a hundred years was just.. unheard of.

Lucy sighed and smiled a bit "Its fine Gray - Really, it is. It's just.. weird," she said, looking at Natsu, who nodded slightly. He was looking at the ground, obviously deep in thought. They stepped out of the boat, back into the arctic. Well, let me rephrase that. Gray and Lucy stepped out of the boat. Natsu was about to follow, but he tripped on something and fell into Lucy, who fell into Gray.

"Ow! Watch where you're going Pyro!" Gray shouted.

"Sorry," Natsu mumbled. They all turned back to see what Natsu tripped on. But what they saw was a sprung wire that caused several noises to be heard inside the boat. They looked up in horror as a giant, red flare was launched into the sky.

"Crap, that can't be good. Let's go!" Gray yelled, and they began to run up the hill.

* * *

><p>Prince Laxus and his uncle Makarov looked up in the sky to see a large pink flare. Laxus blinked in surprise. His scowl turned into a sneer of satisfaction. He looked out the telescope to see three figures running away, one of them with distinct pink hair. He turned to the side to see where they were going: A small, almost deserted village. "It's a signal Makarov!" He yelled, then he turned to the men,"Take me to that village!" He shouted, pointing to the snow-covered tribe. Makarov blinked, surprised they had found something. Then he sat down behind the ecstatic prince, sipping some jasmine tea.<p>

Meanwhile, the trio had just run back into the town. Lucy hunched over, out of breath. The sky was now clouded in soot, ash falling down and blackening the snow. They looked around in horror. Porlyusica and Erza were waiting for them, both steaming mad.

"GRAY!" Came the shout. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!" Erza stormed over to them.

Porlyusica frowned. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted them," she said, pointing a crooked finger at Lucy and Natsu. Several cheers of agreement were heard from the townspeople. Gray looked at them, confused.

"Wait, what? They haven't done anything wrong!" He yelled, glaring at his village.

Erza crossed her arms. "They just signaled the fire nation with that flare. There's a fire navy ship sailing towards us right now," she snarled, glaring at the pair next to her brother. All signs of curiosity and interest were gone, and her katana was drawn.

Gray clenched his fist. "They set that off on accident! I was there, I saw it!"

Porlyusica grabbed her cane and frowned. "Whatever the case Gray, we can't have them in our village any longer. They're putting us in danger."

Gray looked between his sister and Porlyusica. He was about to yell at the old woman, but Lucy grabbed his arm.

"She's right Gray, all Natsu and I have done is cause you trouble. We don't want to put you or your village in harms way," she replied, smiling at him for the first time since that morning.

Natsu appeared over his other shoulder. "Luce is right, so cheer up Ice-freak," he agreed, grinning once more, but a bit sadder than usual. Gray looked at the two and sighed, his clenching his fists. Natsu looked over at Igneel sadly. "C'mon buddy, it's time to go," he said, letting Igneel headbutt him. They waved goodbye to the people in the village, smiling at Gray one last time before climbing onto Igneel's back and riding away into the snow.

After they left, Erza sighed. "It's for the best Gray," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He slapped her arm away.

"You don't understand anything! I had one chance for excitement Erza, and now it's gone," he retorted bitterly, before trudging into a hut and barricading the door. Erza looked at him, shocked that her brother actually talked back to her. Then she looked at the fading figures in the distance, and frowned. Had they really made a mistake?

Not even a minute after, a loud horn blew and the fire navy ship crashed through the ice walls around the village. The sound of grinding steel reverberated through the area. Villagers stumbled back and ran in fear all around her, and Erza's eyes widened. Memories of the day her mother was taken began to flood her memory. She grit her teeth, and stared at the ship furiously.

Gray, hearing things break, stopped sulking and blew up the entrance to the sealed hut, sprinting over to Erza.

"I heard something crash. What's wro- oh," he said, looking dumbly at the ship above. Suddenly, the gangplank lowered, and crashed right in between Erza and Gray. They both narrowed their eyes at the figure before them. He sneered down at them. Then he looked out across the village.

"I am Prince Laxus of the Fire Nation. I have come to retrieve something for my father," he announced, before continuing. "Where is he? Where is the Ava-"

"Wait, so your Prince Laxus? That's so lame," Gray said, huffing. Erza stared at her brother in surprise, then narrowed her eyes, giving him another if-you-don't-shut-up-I-will-kick-your-ass look. Laxus turned his glare to Gray, and his nostrils flared.

"What was that, peasant?"

"I said you're lame, Sparky. Didn't Prince Laxus get like half of his face melted off? That scar isn't very impressive," he replied, putting his hands behind his head.

Erza elbowed him in the ribs, trying to silence her stupid brother. "Gray," she hissed. "Stop being an idiot." But Gray wasn't finished.

"And you seriously don't have the right to call me a peasant. I mean, you were banished three friggin years ago," he added, frowning up at him. Laxus stared at the teenager before him, with a placid expression. Before Gray could say something idiotic again, he extended his right arm and pointed two of his fingers to the nearest hut. Lightning crackled out of his wrist and blew up as soon as it made contact with the exterior. The entire house caught fire, and it began to spread to other houses. Townspeople began frantically trying to put the water out, dumping snow all over it. Gray's eyes narrowed. "What the hell?!" He stepped towards Laxus, cursing. He was cut off by Erza, who began to hold him back from the psychotic prince. Erza's eyes were slit, and her mouth was set in a thin line.

"Our men are gone. Our waterbenders are gone. What business does the Fire Nation have with the South Pole?" She asked calmly, but with a hidden threat in her words. She eyed the prince, her katana still firmly set in her grip.

Laxus smirked, and lowered his arm. "I'll ask one more time. Where. Is. The Avatar?" Silence greeted his words.

"Dude, you seriously think the Avatar would come to a dump-" Erza cut off Gray yet again, before he could cause any more destruction.

"The Avatar has been missing for a hundred years. He disappeared somewhere in the ocean, and hasn't been seen since," Erza answered. Gray's eyes widened, and a lock clicked in his brain. Before Sparky could answer, Gray shushed him (much to his irritation) and turned to Erza. "Erza, I think we do know the Avatar."

She looked at him, confused. She wasn't on the boat, so she didn't understand all that they discovered. "What do you mean?"

Gray eyed the prince, and briskly continued, "Erza, we found two people in an iceberg. In the ocean."

Gears were slowly beginning to turn in her head, she nodded, and glanced at him. "Yeah, but-"

"And when we were on the boat, Lucy and Natsu found a picture of Firelord Ivan. They didn't know who he was, claiming to have known Firelord Hades. But you know he died a long, long time ago. Not only that, but wasn't the Avatar said to have have pink hair?"

Erza's eyes widened, and she stated at the ground. "So they were in that iceberg for a hundred years? But that means.." She trailed off, looking at the impatient prince. She didn't need to answer though, because the answer was clear. The Avatar was also supposed to be a firebender, right? Which meant that the only candidate was Natsu.

Gray seemed to just realize what that meant and he scowled. "Oh come on!" He shouted, surprising both Erza and Laxus. "So that means that Pyro is the friggin Avatar?!"

Laxus smirked, having heard enough. He waved his arm. "Men, search the village. If he doesn't come out, burn it to the ground." His troops ran out past him, but were blocked by Erza and Gray. They were looking, well, pissed, to say the least.

Erza changed into an armor she liked to call "Heaven's Wheel", and she took out ten swords, pointing them at the crew. Gray stood in a stance with his hand on his fist, with one foot forwards. His shirt was somehow missing again. "If you want the Avatar, then you'll have to go through us," they both said, staring them down. The guards stepped back, obviously scared. Laxus only scowled. "Men, search the houses. NOW," he said, taking of his jacket. Lightning flew around his body.

Before he could move, Gray made a swiping motion upwards with his arm, and ice spikes shot out from beneath Laxus. He stumbled back, and Erza took her chance and swung one of her swords across at his chest. Unfortunately, he turned and it only seemed to graze his shoulder. He grit his teeth, and swung his leg back, kicking Erza into the snow.

At the same time, his pointed an index finger at Gray, and lightning shot at him. Gray ducked in time, but the heat still touched his hair. Laxus grinned and turned to face him. Erza leapt back up and changed into her "Lightning Empress Armor" and ran towards Laxus. He turned and brought his hand up and lightning struck from the ground. It hit Erza, but she didn't even flinch.

Laxus showed a flicker of confusion on his face, and she thrust her spear forward, lightning streaking out of it. Laxus pointed his index finger towards it, and it went into his hand. It travelled through his body and out the other hand, hitting Gray in the shoulder. He spiraled onto the ground.

Suddenly they heard a scream from behind them. Gray and Erza whipped around, and saw one of his guards grabbing Porlyusica. The village was in shambles, with fire everywhere and people running amok.

"Porlyusica!" Gray yelled, and Laxus took his chance to land a punch in Erza's stomach, causing her to fly backwards into the snow once again. Laxus looked at his two fallen enemies in contempt.

"This fight is over," he declared. Gray struggled to stand. Laxus sneered and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to emit a gasp of pain and roll down the hill. Laxus turned to Era, but before he could do anything, he heard a roar to the right of the camp. He turned, and as soon as he did, a yellow blob flew into him, knocking him down. At the same time, another figure slid down the hill and fisted the guard holding Porlyusica into unconsciousness. Gray and Erza gasped. The thing on top of Laxus groaned.

"Natsuuu, that huuurt," Lucy complained, rubbing her back. She then realized she was sitting on someone and cartwheeled off of him, bowing. "I'm so so so sorry, sir!" She said, glaring at Natsu.

Natsu dropped the unmoving form of the soldier. He huffed and crossed his arms. "Sorry, I was improvising. Besides, you're really light," he noticed Gray and Erza and grinned. "Oh hey guys, what'd we miss?" Gray and Erza sweat-dropped, and Laxus growled. Natsu ran towards them, and glared at him. "So this is the guy that did this to you guys?" Gray nodded, and Lucy's face morphed from an apologetic look to a frown.

Laxus scowled. "So this is the almighty Avatar? You're just a child!"

Natsu frowned. "Well you're only a few years older, buddy. I happen to be seventeen," he said, then he counted his fingers. "Make that one-hundred seventeen, apparently."

Laxus smirked. "Well whatever the case, you're coming with me," he growled, electricity crackling again.

Lucy spat. "In your dreams, Sparky!"

Natsu got into a fighting stance, but then he heard a small voice. The world seemed to go in slow motion, and he turned his head to see the villagers screaming and running away from the town, being chased down by the soldiers. He saw kids crying into their mothers' dresses, and little Asuka on the ash covered ground, covered in bruises. He turned back to Laxus, where things were getting heated. He stepped in between them.

"WAIT!" He shouted, and both sides paused. He turned to Laxus, his eyes narrowed. "If I come with you," he said, gesturing to the village, "You have to leave everyone here alone."

Gray and Erza's eyes widened. "No way Pyro, we could totally take him," Gray retorted angrily.

Natsu shook his head and smiled sadly at him. "Usually I would agree Gray, but I don't want any of your family to get hurt," he replied, turning back to Laxus. "Well? Deal or no deal?" He demanded, crossing his arms.

Laxus grit his teeth. He wasn't used to being ordered around. "Fine!" He snapped. "Deal," his men closed in on Natsu, and he looked at Lucy. They exchanged looks one more time, and soon Natsu disappeared behind the mass of black and red armor. They marched him onboard and Laxus looked back at the village, grinning. Then the gangplank was raised, and the ship was out on the sea again. Lucy waited until they were far enough away, then she ran over to Igneel. Erza and Gray rushed after her.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked, his eyes clouded with anger and guilt. Erza watched him quietly.

Lucy looked back at him, just as angry. "I'm going after him, what do you think?" She hissed, climbing onto his back. Gray and Erza exchanged glances, and unanimously agreed.

"Lucy wait," Erza called, rushing over to the dragon with Gray on her heels. "We're coming too," Lucy looked at her like they were crazy.

"What? No, you can't, it's too risky," she replied, saddling up Igneel as he stretched his wings and yawned. Erza and Gray climbed onto his wing after her. Gray smirked.

"We're coming, and you can't change that," he shot back, climbing into the saddle with Erza right behind him. "Besides, once we get him back, I can use him as target practice for my bending." Lucy sighed and tugged on the reins. Then she smiled, grateful for the company.

"All right, but hold on tightly. Igneel, let's go!" She yelled, and he shot up into the air like a bullet. Gray emitted a very unmanly scream, and Erza laughed at him, throwing her arms out as they soared into the sky. Igneel flapped a bit, and with a beat of his wings, he flattened out so they were gliding peacefully over the ocean. Erza caught her breath, admiring the view. Lucy grinned and pumped her fist. "All right team, let's go save Natsu!" Two cheers were her response, as they followed the smoke trail disappearing over the horizon.

Down below, an old woman with pink hair watched the speck disappear into the sky. She smiled to herself. "Good luck to you all, Lucy, Erza, Gray," Porlyusica whispered, before picking up a broom helping the rest of the village clean up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hay guys, its been a while, huh? One week feels like forever to me. But anyways, sorry I got the chapter out so late today. Conferences are in the next week, and I was at a party late last night. But yeah, that was the first fight scene I've ever written ever, so if you likedislike, feel free to tell me so! Same goes for the rest of the story, as I'm still a new writer I would love to hear from you guys! Over 350 views so far, you guys are so amazing! That's all for now, so I hope you enjoyed!**

**Reaction to the Manga: *cries in a corner eating spoonfuls of icecream***

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu regretted his decision immediately after stepping onto the ship. His cheeks flared, and his stomach felt like it was having a war with itself. He immediately slouched over and bile filled his throat. He was marched- no, dragged onto the deck of the ship, flanked by eight guards, four on each side. Each was heavily armed. They had already patted him down, and he had solid steel cuffs attached to his wrists. As if he would be much of a problem. Natsu huffed. They suddenly stopped, and Natsu nearly fell into the guard in front of him, causing his face to turn green again. Laxus looked Natsu over, obviously praising himself mentally for capturing a teenager. Natsu snorted, trying to keep his puke down. Laxus raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Natsu shook his head quickly. "N-Nothing S-sparky," he whispered,

Laxus curled his lip, his sneer quickly vanishing. Natsu's motion sickness didn't seem to faze him though, and his eyes fell onto Natsu's scarf. He walked over and took it off.

Natsu growled, and immediately regretted doing so, his stomach turning again. "H-hey! Give that back, that's important!" Laxus ran his hand along the fabric holding it together. He looked at Natsu coldly.

"I wonder if my father likes cotton," he wondered out loud, leaning in towards Natsu. Natsu scowled and head-butted him in the chest. Laxus stumbled back and hissed. "Take him below deck, I don't want to look at him anymore."

Natsu stuck his tongue out. "S-same goes for you, shortbus." A vein bulged on Laxus's forehead and Natsu was turned around and dragged downstairs. Each step seemed to take forever, causing him to lean on the railing, trying not to empty his insides. Eventually he was inside the sparsely lit metal interior. 'When I get out of here, I'm so gonna kick his teeth in' Natsu thought to himself, swallowing.

He was shoved down a long corridor by two guards, each carrying a spear and wearing full armor. He grabbed on to one of the chains on his wrist and ignited his fingers. He looked at the guard in front of him. "I bet I could t-take both of you out w-with my arms tied," he bragged, observing the back of the guard's helmet.

"Quiet," was his answer, and he huffed again. They reached a metal door, and the guard in front took out a key, unlocking it. The guard behind him put down his weapon and grabbed his shackle, which had now been heated to a large extent. Just because you're a fire bender doesn't mean you can't feel heat. The guard cursed and grabbed his burning hand. Natsu grinned and took his opportunity to sweep his leg upwards, hitting the guard in front of him in the chin, then sweeping it to the right and kicking him into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Natsu stuck his cuffs on the spike on his helmet and began to whittle away at the metal. The other guard, now recovered somewhat from the burn, began running down the hall, so Natsu jabbed his elbow towards him. Flames shot out in an arc shape, blowing him against the wall. Natsu looked back to his arms, where the chains snapped. He inwardly sighed, promising to never fight on a boat again. He staggered past the half-conscious guard and smiled. "Told you so, rust-bucket!"

After walking for a while, he began to have an easier time with moving. He lurched down the winding corridors, stopping at each door and peeking inside. He found a game room, dozens of soldiers' rooms, a bathroom, and a sauna. If he wasn't trying to escape, he probably would have loved it there.

'Hm.' Natsu looked around, obviously searching for something. 'If I was a snobby ex-prince, where would my room be?' His thought was answered as he walked into a large metal door, causing his stomach to grumble irritably.

It was decorated with the fire nation emblem imprinted on the door in darker metal, and two red banners hanging next to it. He creeped inside. "Ooh, my scarf!" He squealed, wobbling over to where it was laying on a shelf. He adjusted it and tucked it around his neck. Then he turned around, only to come face to face with a very agitated blonde.

Laxus's nostrils flared. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked, his mouth set in a scowl and veins bulging on his arms. Natsu coughed.

"Uh, outside? I hear it's lovely this time of year," Natsu replied, his hand inching towards his stomach. "Unless you have a problem with that, that is," he added, trying to sound threatening.

Laxus chuckled and smirked. "I don't think you're in a good position to make any threats," he said, and ran at him with his fist. Natsu ducked under his legs, his stomach jerking painfully, but he ignored it. He have him a sluggish but hard kick in the back, rushing as quickly as he could through the door and slamming it behind him. He saw the stairs and smiled, stumbling up to the deck. He dragged himself to the edge of the deck, looking over it. This didn't particularly help his sickness.

Natsu scoured the sky. He squinted and saw a small, red speck in the distance, slowly getting closer. He whistled and waved his arm, the other one clutching his stomach. Fire shot out in front of him, making him stumble away from the edge. He reeled around to see an even more agitated Laxus, backed by six guards on each side.

"End of the line, pinky," Laxus threatened, his eyes in narrow slits. "I suggest you come quietly."

Natsu let out a short chuckle and put his arm behind his head. "Not a chance steroids," he shot back, his fists slowly lighting up with flames. He stared down Laxus for a while, flames dancing across his skin. Laxus threw out an arm, and the crew members surged forward. Natsu heard the steady wing beat approach, and he didn't look back as he said "Hey Luce, I was starting to get worried that you wouldn't show." The guards stopped where they were.

Lucy grinned, and landed softly on the deck next to him. "Sorry, we picked up a bigger load that usual," she smiled, jerking her thumb to the two who jumped down by Natsu.

He grinned. "What's this about not trusting me, Erza? I thought you said I was trouble."

Erza smiled at him. "Well, that was a mistake on my part, my apologies. But Gray and I couldn't let you be shipped off to the fire nation, now could we?" She said, nudging Gray, who was somehow missing his shirt again. He nodded, scratching his head.

Natsu looked at him, wiping fake tears from his eye. "Popsicle missed me? You really do care!" he grinned, holding his arms out for a hug.

Gray shoved him away. "Do that again and I'll end you, Pyro," he said, with some amusement in his voice and a hint of a smile on his face. Then he narrowed his eyes at Laxus, and the crew members flooding up from downstairs. "So these are the idiots we need to beat up?" he asked, cracking his neck.

Natsu nodded. Lucy glanced at him, and snapped her fingers. "Ah, here you are!" she said, tossing him a small container with some pills in it. He gulped it down and grinned, standing up and stretching.

"Thanks Luce, that was starting to be an issue," he said, his motion sickness ebbing away like a bad dream.

Erza cleared her throat. "Okay, our main goal is to get Natsu as far away as possible, but before then we need to stop Laxus and the crew from injuring him. Gray, Lucy, and I will take out the crew. And Natsu-" she said, turning around. "I need you to-" she stopped when she realized he wasn't there. She slowly turned around to see him creeping towards Laxus, a grin plastered onto his face. They sweat dropped, and Lucy face-palmed. He had literally taken the pills ten seconds ago, and he was already acting like he could take on the world.

Natsu cleared his throat, watching Laxus call for backup. "Hey Sparky, get your prissy ass over here and fight me like a real man!" he yelled. Laxus's eyes twitched, and his body lit up with lightning. Natsu veered away from the other three, and walked closer to him. "You shouldn't be taking that many steroids. I hear they're bad for your health."

Laxus stared at him, extremely irritated already. "Do you have a death wish?" he asked, his muscles bulging. Natsu raised an eyebrow and ignored him, continuing.

"It's no wonder your dad kicked you out. You probably were a huge freak. Can't have that kind of guy being the next firelord, right?"

Laxus growled. "Shut up ba-"

He cut him off. "Speaking of your parents, I haven't heard about your mother. Is she as disappointed in you as the rest of your nation? Or did she leave, too ashamed to call you her son? Wait, don't tell me, is she d-" That was the last straw for Laxus. He screamed and shot lightning at Natsu, hitting him in the arm. He winced, but then Laxus followed up by punching him in the stomach, sending Natsu across the boat. He slammed into the metal railing with a harsh thud.

"Natsu!" Erza yelled, but Lucy held her back, shaking her head.

"Natsu may be an idiot, but he can handle himself. He would be pissed if we interrupted him when he's in the zone," Lucy quietly said, watching her partner. Natsu's crumpled form stood up, grinning at the prince. He had blood running down his forehead, but he didn't seem to mind. He massaged his shoulder, setting some bones back into place with a satisfying crack. He starting laughing, clutching his sides.

"Oh, hit a nerve did I? Gotta say, for a fire nation reject, you hit pretty hard," he praised, oblivious that he had just insulted himself, his fist lighting on fire. "I'm fired up now!" he yelled, cockily running at Laxus. Gray, Erza and Lucy turned to the rest of the crew.

Gray looked at them, his eyes cold and his face hardened. He put his hands together, a fist on his palm, and slammed his hands onto the ground. Ice shot across the boat, causing several crew members to slip and fall. Then he formed ice around his arms, slashing through the middle of those still standing.

Erza cut in, wearing her Heaven's Wheel armor, and slashing and cutting through the rows of people. Her movements were fluid and well timed, and not a single motion was wasted. Someone on the upper deck was aiming a catapult at where Natsu and Laxus fought. She swiftly pulled out a spear from.. wherever all her weapons come from, and nailed him in the shoulder.

Lucy looked at the destruction those two had already caused. She grinned, grateful they had come, and moved her foot into a fighting stance. She sprinted forward, and leapt over the head of a fire bender fighting Gray, landing two punches on his shoulders, and kicking his legs out from under him. He tried to get up again, but as soon as he tried to shoot fire at Gray, nothing came out. Gray turned to Lucy, his mouth open about to ask a question, but she had disappeared into the chaos. She ducked under several fire nation soldiers, landing punches and kicks on their legs, arms, wrists, shoulders, almost everything. And every time she hit, they would fall to the ground, unable to get back up.

Soon, everyone was either frozen, pinned, or unable to move. The trio high-fived and grinned at each other. Suddenly, they heard a wheeze from behind them. They whipped around, realizing that it had come from Natsu, as he struggled to breathe. Laxus's hand was clamped firmly around his throat, and he smirked. He picked up Natsu and held him over the edge of the boat.

"NATSU!" they screeched at the same time, running over to them. Laxus held out his free hand, and sent crackles of lightning at them. They stumbled back, and fell onto the metal deck.

"Guys!" Natsu choked, still struggling to find air. Natsu glared daggers at Laxus. He snickered again and released Natsu from his grip, causing him to fall towards the cold, arctic water.

"Natsu!" Gray yelled, and the three of them ran to the edge. Natsu's sides heaved, taking in the air quickly, but seconds later his body hit the water and sunk below the surface. Gray stared at the water, bangs covering his eyes, and Erza's hands were shaking with rage. Lucy stared at the water, her eyes wide and hands over her mouth. 'Did that just happen?' Lucy thought. Laxus cackled, grinning over the edge.

"Not so tough now, are you, oh mighty Avatar?" he sneered, and his crew, now recovered, surrounded the three still on the boat. "There goes the world's last hope." He stated, grinning maliciously at them.

Without even a second passing, bubbles began to froth at the surface of the ocean. Everyone looked over the edge in surprise. A tornado of water shot out of the ocean, swirling around at hundreds of miles per hour. And at the top of the tornado was Natsu. But this wasn't the normal, idiotic, lovable Natsu. His eyes were completely white, and he looked at Laxus with a serious, unforgiving expression. Laxus and his crew stumbled away, fear in their eyes.

"Woah," Gray whispered, staring at the figure before him and smiling.

Erza's eyes were wide, her eyes filled with curiosity "I've never seen that much power.." she thought out loud.

Lucy's mouth hung open and she grinned up at her friend. Memories of a fateful day from her past rose up to her mind.

"I've seen him like this.. Once before," he whispered, her eyes never leaving his face. "Natsu's in the Avatar State. I've learned that in this state, Natsu's at his most powerful. I highly suggest we stand back, because things are going to get destructive," she warned, pulling Gray and Erza to the opposite end of the boat than that of the Avatar and Laxus's crew.

Not even a second later, Natsu landed softly on the ground in front of Laxus. He looked at him unemotionally and whispered. "I'm fired up now." With one swift cutting motion of his arm, the tornado of water sliced down. It separated Laxus from his crew, and effectively sliced the boat in half in the process.

Gray's jaw dropped to the floor.

Natsu's form entered a tornado once again, and floated before Laxus, studying him. Laxus looked up at him, feeling a fear like he'd never felt before. Not like when he faced his father. Not like when he dueled his adopted sister. He felt true fear.

Natsu slashed his arms in a circle around him, and a ring of water shot out, knocking the screaming male and his crew overboard. Natsu suddenly lurched, and his eyes and skin stopped glowing. He fell to the ground.

Lucy smirked at Gray. "Still think you can take him?" she asked, running over to her friend. She sat down next to him, and started to shake his shoulders. His eyes fluttered open.

"Luce? Is.. is that you?" he asked, sitting up. She smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back, and looked at the dumbfounded forms of Eza and Gray. "Ugh.. what happened? And why does my head hurt so friggin much?" he asked again, to no one in particular.

Erza was the first to recover. She helped Natsu and Lucy up. "You went into the Avatar State, and defeated Laxus," she replied calmly, smiling softly at him.

Gray nodded. "And you destroyed half the freaking ship - so good job," he said, patting his shoulder.

Natsu looked around, just realizing what had happened. The back end of the ship had a cut through the middle, and the metal had bended so you could see through it to the downstairs area. Somehow, the bottom had remained intact, so it wasn't beginning to flood. The railings and upper deck were completely wrecked though, and debris littered the area.

"Ohhhh, I remember hearing about that. It's the thing where I make things blow up with my mind, right?" he asked excitedly, waving his hands around and making 'bwoosh' noises. Lucy giggled.

"Sort of," she replied, letting him lean on her shoulder. The four of them looked around, unsure of what to do next. A familiar roar sounded nearby, and Igneel flapped down next to them. Natsu ran into him, wrapping his arms as far around his neck as he could. Igneel growled softly, and they all climbed onto his back. He flapped his wings again and shot into the sky. Gray grinned mischievously at Natsu.

"So pyro has motion sickness, huh?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. His eyes shined devilishly as if already coming up with means of payback. Natsu groaned, leaning up before glaring at Gray.

"Don't get any ideas, stripper. If you do I might just go all Avatar State on you," he grinned, waving his hands around dramatically. That shut him up for a bit. It was a few minutes before Gray spoke up again. "Lucy?"

She looked at him. "Yeah?"

"That thing you did before, with all the punching. When you hit that guy he couldn't firebend. How?" he asked, sitting up. She blinked, then nodded.

"Well, I'm no bender, so when I was younger I was taught chi blocking. Basically I hit people in the pressure points, which blocks off the flow of their inner chi. This can disable their body parts for a short period of time, or in a bender's case, their bending," she explained, twirling her hair around her fingers. Gray mouthed an 'ah', his shirt somehow missing again, and glanced at the sea below.

Natsu looked between Erza and Gray. He saw the water tribe fade off in the distance, and blinked. "Wait, we're taking them with us?" he asked, eying Lucy. She nodded.

"They saved your life, remember? Besides, I'm pretty sure they would rather travel the world than be stuck in the cold," she said, before adding. "Gray, your clothes." He scrambled around before finding his shirt precariously balanced on Igneel's tail. He snatched it away, nodding in agreement to her first statement. There were a few more minutes of silence, before Lucy cleared her throat. "So, what now?"

They all looked at each other and shrugged. Erza watched the metal wreckage fade off into the distance. "Well, if you're going to beat the Firelord, you have to learn all four elements, right? So water, earth, fire, and air," she said after a bit, her arms folded. Lucy nodded.

"That's right. And he already is a firebender, so that just leaves the other three," Lucy agreed thoughtfully. Gray pulled out a map and laid it across the saddle.

"We're currently here," he gestured, pointing to a spot just north of the southern water tribe. He traced his finger to large brown buildings on the map, way north of where they were. It would take at least two weeks journey to make it there. "These are part of the Earth Kingdom. I suggest we start here, and have someone teach him earthbending." Lucy frowned, and placed her finger on a building a bit closer, which would only take a few days journey to get to.

"What about this? This is the Southern Air Temple right? It's a lot closer, and Natsu has already been there. He should learn airbending here first," she said, glancing at Natsu. He grinned eagerly, his sharp canines shining.

"Yeah! The airbenders are really nice and they make really good food. I want to go there next!" he decided, leaning back in the saddle. Erza and Gray exchanged glances, then Erza sighed. She leaned forward.

"All right then, to the air temple it is," she stated, ignoring the incredulous look she got from Gray. "But I must warn you. The world has.. changed in the past hundred years. Things aren't the same as they once were."

Natsu looked at her, still smiling. "Even so, the airbenders live in some of the most remote places in the world. I doubt they've changed all that much," he replied, turning to Lucy. They began to talk about the last time they visited the temple. Gray and Erza shared worried glances. They glanced back at the small speck that was their village, feeling that they wouldn't return for a long time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hay I'm back! Over 500 views so far, thanks! To those who followed and favorited, thank you the most! Seeing that you actually somewhat enjoy this story so far makes me really happy. I explained chi-blocking the way I think it works, so don't quote me on that. This is one of the last pre-written chapters, so I'll work a bit harder to make sure the next few come out on time. But yeah, if you enjoyed, review, because I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks for reading!<strong>

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	6. Chapter 6

Natsu surveyed the placid sea below them. His reflection stared back up at him. Igneel had drifted down from the clouds as night settled, but he continued to fly. He glanced up at the bright sky. Stars littered the blackness and the moon glared back down at him. He leaned back against the saddle and looked at his comrades, who were all sound asleep. He smiled, grateful that they had decided to tag along. He would never admit that to Gray of course, but Erza was like the mother he never had. Or rather, had never met.

He stretched out and laid his hands on his stomach, staring at the sky once more. The others had gone to sleep much earlier, but he couldn't seem to do the same. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. He tried to remember what exactly he did on the boat. He'd actually been trying for a while, but something always seemed to block him. Everything was blurred, and all he saw were shapes. Natsu huffed and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Lucy stared blankly at the ice covered water below. They had been flying for two days now yet the icy ocean seemed to have no end.<p>

She turned around to the others, only to see Erza still scolding Natsu and Gray, a sword in her hand. Lucy chuckled a bit. She had lost count of how many times they had fought. Maybe five or six. Gray seemed to have gotten over Natsu being the Avatar, and he didn't seem fazed at all when they rolled around, punching each other.

Lucy smiled at their childish antics. She was glad Natsu had found a friend after all that had happened. She looked back over the edge of the saddle then smiled even more. "Look!" she yelled, pointing off to the distance. "There it is!"

Natsu scrambled over to the edge, ignoring the death glare Erza have him and his eyes softened."Gourmet food, here I come!" he squealed, grinning at Lucy. Gray huffed.

"I thought my fish sticks were pretty good," he glared at Natsu, who stuck his tongue out. Lucy giggled, and glanced back at the buildings ahead.

There was one main tower visible up on the top of the mountain, made out of white stone and a shingled blue roof. A viewing deck could be seen from the top. Several other small towers dotted the mountainside, and tunnels carved through the rock connected them. A long path went from the largest tower to a bridge, connecting that mountain to a smaller mountain where the path disappeared into the clouds and spiraled towards the ground. It was a breathtaking sight, but strangely enough there was no sound or movement to be found.

Igneel landed softly near the base of the largest tower, and after the four of them slid off his back, he promptly sat down and passed out. They all stretched, and took in the wondrous sight before them. The air temple seemed much larger standing at the base. Natsu frowned, then his face lit up in excitement once again.

"That's weird. I don't hear anything, and the airbenders are usually everywhere. Oooh, I bet they're playing hide and seek!" he giggled, running straight into the tower.

"Hey! Wait up Pyro!" Gray yelled after him, and Lucy giggled.

"I'll go get him. Let's meet up later, okay?" she said, running after her pink-haired friend.

Gray was about to stop her, but Erza shook her head. He turned to her. "Why not just tell them? They'll find out eventually," he asked, looking down the dark hall.

She sighed. "I get the feeling it's not our place to tell them. They'll find out soon enough, without our interference. Besides, I don't think I could get Natsu to shut up long enough for me to tell him," she muttered darkly, before hearing her name being called. Lucy ran out.

"Natsu found something! Come here!" she yelled excitedly, and they exchanged glances before following her.

Natsu was hunched over a small, blue shape on the ground. Erza and Gray stopped short, horrified, and staring at the shape below.

"Is it dead?" Gray asked, eying the shape. A sudden mewl proved him wrong. The figure shot up, and Natsu giggled at him childishly.

It- or rather he, was a small, blue cat with big, curious eyes. He had small, white wings protruding from his sides.

Lucy squealed. "It's an exceed! They're so cute~!"

Exceeds were common pets among the airbenders, because of their flight and in rare cases, ability to learn to speak native languages. They came in many shapes and sizes, and most of them were strangely colored. Natsu picked him up and set him on his lap.

"Hello!" he greeted, staring at the cat intently. The cat stared back and curled up on his legs, letting out another meow. Lucy fawned at his cuteness, and Erza couldn't help but smile a bit. Natsu grinned and started to stroke his back.

"It's settled then! Happy's now a part of our team," he declared, rubbing the cats face. Gray let out a snort.

"Happy? What kind of a name is that?"

Natsu huffed. "It's a better name than yours, Stripper." Gray was about to retort when Erza shushed him.

"Well I think it's an adorable name, Natsu," she praised, smiling. Natsu nodded and sent a triumphant look at Gray. Happy stretched out and stepped off of his lap. Natsu noticed a small green knapsack tied to his back. A small, extremely old-looking book was jutting out of the side.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, pulling it out. He opened it and read the contents. Within moments, his cheery face dropped and he started to frown. After about a minute or so, his happy aura had completely vanished, and his hands started shaking. Lucy looked at him in concern, then she realized they were shaking in rage. He grit his teeth and stood up suddenly. She gave him a questioning look, and he suddenly threw down the book and shot down the corridor.

"Natsu?" she asked, extremely concerned now. But he was gone, and his footsteps echoed in the distance. She turned to the leather-bound book on the ground and picked it up. Gray and Erza wordlessly moved over to read it over her shoulder. The text was scribbled like it was rushed, and it was obvious that the writer was shaky when they wrote about it. Lucy's eyes widened.

_To whoever may one day find this book, I strongly advise that you run. Travel as far away from this temple as you can, and never come back. You are in grave danger so long as you remain, so stop reading until you are certain you are not being followed._

The line stopped, and Lucy tentatively turned the page.

_Are you alone? Good. This is a journal written by one of the airbender monks that are still alive. Almost all of us have been murdered. They've completely taken over the lower sanctuary, and we're barely able to hold them off. They came out of the blue, climbing up the mountain in the metal tanks the new Firelord Ivan created. They haven't said a word about what they're after, but they obviously aren't taking any prisoners. Monk Gyatso and the others suspect that it may be because they are trying to end the line of the Avatar. No one has heard anything of the previous Avatar for many years, but we weren't expecting them to go to such an extent to secure their victory._

_Whoever you are, beware. You must search for the Avatar, for if he is truly dead, our world is doomed. There is a room located in the underground area of this temple that has been sealed off for years. If you can-  
><em>

The jumbled writing abruptly stopped, and dried blood splattered the page. Lucy let out a muffled gasp, her hand covering her mouth. "I-I didn't think they would.." she trailed off, staring at the page in horror. She turned around to look at Gray and Erza. They were looking at her sadly. "Y-you knew, didn't you?" she asked, looking between them. Erza nodded, and Gray looked off to the side. Lucy stared at the ground. Happy brushed against her leg, mewling sadly. They stood there in silence for a few moments. That's when the hallway that Natsu ran down began to glow.

* * *

><p>Natsu ran as fast as he could, trying to blink away the frustrated tears beginning to blur his vision. He ducked down into an outdoor area, and slumped against the wall. He punched the ground next to him, cracking it. "Damnit!" he shouted, ignoring the pain shooting up his arm. "Why do I suck so much?!" The soft sound of wind chimes sounded in the distance. Disappearing for one hundred years was worse enough, but he didn't think something like this would happen. The fact that he had allowed a genocide of the Air Nation to happen made him even more pissed. He closed his eyes, wishing it was all just a dream, and he wasn't some pathetic bender who couldn't even protect his friend. Rattling sounded from next to him, and he stood up. He peered around the corner, into what he assumed was one of the main gathering areas.<p>

Natsu's eyes widened, and his rage intensified. There was a dried up fountain in the center, and this place seemed to be the only place where some kind of plant was growing. But that's not what angered him. There were bodies everywhere.

Skulls and arms and legs were strewn across the place, ripped up clothing scattered everywhere. Some skeletons had remained intact, and seemed to be clawing at the walls. What was worst of all, was the body of a child, curled up right in front of him. An inhumane yell erupted from Natsu's mouth, and he started glowing. Air whirled around him at hundreds of miles per hour, and the skeletons were quickly whisked away. He rose into the air, and a pillar of blue light shot into the sky once again. Cracks appeared in the walls around him, and the sky began to turn gray. Stones and sticks swirled around him, smashing into anything and everything.

"Natsu!" A voice called out from behind him, and he turned around. Lucy, Erza and Gray were running towards him. They stopped at the end though, because the wind around him increased. Lucy's hair whipped around her face, and she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Natsu! It's okay!" she shouted. Gray looked up next to her.

"Stop it Pyro! You're going to destroy the rest of the temple!" He yelled, walking towards him. Erza followed.

"No one blames you for what happened, Natsu! It's not your fault!" She added, and the three of them trudged slowly towards him. The glow started to flicker, and Lucy grabbed his wrist.

"It's okay, Natsu. Everything's okay," she whispered, smiling up at him. The glow completely faded, and he fell into her. The winds died down, and Erza and Gray joined them. Natsu curled up and buried his face in his arms. Erza put a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't blame you, Natsu. It's not your fault," she assured, smiling again. Natsu was silent for a moment, then grimaced.

"Tell that to the rest of the world. They all think I've abandoned them."

"Well then you should get off your ass and prove them wrong," Gray stated from behind him. Natsu scowled at him, but his mood seemed to lighten a bit.

"Shut up Stripper."

"Make me, Flame-brain."

Natsu stood up and shoved him away. "Maybe I will!"

Gray reeled back and pushed him again. "Try me!"

Natsu butted heads with him. "LET'S GO THEN ICE-FREAK!"

Gray scowled and put his hands together. "READY WHEN YOU ARE PYRO!"

Erza grabbed them by their ears and smashed their heads together. "That's enough you two." Natsu and Gray let out small 'ayes' in agreement. Lucy smiled. GRay may not have meant to help him, but the normal Natsu was back. Then she realized something.

"Wait a second guys," she intervened, causing the three of them to turn to her, "Who is going to teach him airbending now?" Realization dawned on their faces, and they looked at each other, aghast.

"I-I might be able to," said a timid voice from behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hay guys! What a wonderful cliffhanger. I wonder who the mysterious figure could be. Guess you'll have to stick around to find out. I'm SO sorry this chapter came out so late. For some reason, I was unable to get onto my account until late tonight, so I just finished. But yeah, here it is! Hope you enjoyed, got some splendid homicide action, Avatar State and such, and friendship and stuff. Hope you enjoyed, and as always, leave a review with your opinions!<strong>

**To my Fabulous Reviewers:**

**Guest: Thank you! I wasn't sure the crossover would work, but it's not that bad so far. I hope you continue to enjoy the story ^^**

**Canadian Aspiring Author: Thank you as well! And don't worry, it isn't that much pressure. I'll do my best to continue to get chapters out every week, so don't worry :D**


	7. Chapter 7

They all reeled around to see a small girl peeking at them from behind a stone pillar. She stepped out and looked at them sheepishly. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress attached at the neck, with a frilly base and a bow around her neck and waist. She had long, white thigh socks and red boots. White detached sleeves adorned her arms, and her long blue hair was styled into two ponytails. Her face turned red. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she apologized, bowing. Team Natsu just stared at her, dumbfounded. She looked between them and her face turned even redder. Lucy blinked away her confusion.

"Oh- uh hi there!" Lucy said quickly, scratching her head. "I'm sorry, we didn't see you." The girl shook her head quickly.

"N-no! It's n-no problem at all," she waved her off. "I j-just saw some lights down the hall a-and came to see what they were."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "I see." She supposed bright blue lights weren't the most inconspicuous things in the world. She looked to her comrades to see Natsu and Gray having a silent showdown with their eyes and Erza watching the small girl in front of them.

The girl, obviously still embarrassed, quickly added, "Oh! T-that's right. M-my name is W-Wendy," she said, bowing once more.

Lucy smiled. "No need to be so formal. My name's Lucy," she started, pointing to herself. "This is Erza, Gray, and Natsu." She waved over to her friends, and Natsu and Gray looked up when they were introduced.

Wendy's eyes widened when she looked at Natsu. "The Avatar.." she muttered, trailing off.

"Yo!" he said, grinning. "Nice to meet you!" Wendy smiled at him and bowed.

"I-It's an honor to meet you, sir!" she stammered. Natsu's grin grew even wider.

"You too, squirt."

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of getting to know each other, they walked out of the trashed courtyard towards the main entrance.<p>

"So you live here Wendy?" Gray asked.

"Y-yeah. No one wants to climb up here nowadays, so it's pretty peaceful," she answered, smiling.

Gray nodded slightly. "I would imagine so, especially after.. _that_ happened." Wendy seemed to stiffen a bit, so Erza jumped in and changed the subject.

"So Wendy, you said you could help out Natsu with airbending, didn't you?"

"O-oh, right! W-well I was thinking that maybe I could-"

She stopped mid-sentence when they exited the tunnel to where they had first entered. Erza looked at her to ask her to continue, but she stopped when she saw Wendy staring at Igneel, who was lounging against a fallen pillar. Happy had found his way outside and was snoring on his scaly stomach. Any sane person would stop to stare if they found a massive dragon outside their house, but Wendy's reaction was a bit more than just surprise. Was it.. grief?

"I-I didn't know you w-were friends with a d-dragon," she whispered, staring longingly at Igneel. Her fists were clenched, and she bit her lip.

"Yeah!" Natsu said, oblivious to her reaction and pounding his fist to his chest. "Igneel's the best dragon there is."

Wendy shifted her gaze to the ground and started trembling. "O-oh.. I s-see."

Lucy frowned and looked over at her. "Is there something wrong, Wendy?"

Wendy didn't answer. Lucy tried again. "Wendy?"

Wendy let out a quiet sob and whipped around, her hair flying behind her. "I-I'm sorry!" she yelled suddenly, running past her. Tears streamed down her face and she ran down the path connecting to another part of the mountain. Lucy jolted up.

"Wendy?" she yelled after her and ran down the stairs. _Crap._ She thought. _Was it something I said?_

Gray and Natsu shot up to follow her, but Erza grabbed their shoulders. "We probably scared the poor girl. Let Lucy handle this." Gray looked like he was about to argue, then he sighed and moved her hand away. He looked down at the small figures disappearing into the fog below. _I hope you know what you're doing._

* * *

><p>"Wendy?" Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth and called for her friend. "Where are you?" The thick blankets of fog were literally clouding her vision, and she blinked away the haze. She nearly tripped over her own feet, and looked down to see clouds swirling around her legs. She had heard footsteps running down this way, but she should've caught up to Wendy a while ago.<p>

"Wendy?" she called again, before stumbling once more. Falling forwards, the path veered a sharp right and the front half of her body splayed off the edge of the mountain. She let out a shrill shriek and small footsteps sounded from below her to the right.

"L-Lucy?" Wendy's voice called, still a bit shaky from crying. She felt thin arms wrap around her waist and heard grunting as they tugged her back onto the path. She gave one final push before falling down and sighing in relief.

"Thanks Wendy," she said, smiling.

Wendy puffed out her chest a bit. "No problem," she replied, her eyes shining with pride. Lucy leaned back against the mountain and let out a long breath. Wendy squatted down beside her and looked up at the mountain above. They had run an impressive length in such a short time, and she could no longer see the top where they had come from. The soft sound of wind chimes still sounded though, even though it must've been many leagues away. Wendy inhaled sharply and turned to Lucy. "I-I just wanted to apologize f-for running off all of a sudden before," she said, poking her fingers, "Seeing another dragon reminded me of my m-mother."

Lucy's eyes immediately widened in understanding, and she nodded. Her own mother had been lost to a disease that swept across the Fire Nation when she was young, so she only remembered bits and pieces of her face. She smiled to herself and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her clothes weren't really meant for this high of an altitude. "Did your mom have an interest in dragons or something?"

Wendy giggled a bit and looked back out to the clouds. "N-not exactly, no. The truth is, my mother _is_ a dragon."

The wind chimes were quickly drowned out by Lucy.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

><p>It took a while to explain everything about her past to Lucy. Much longer than it should have, admittedly, for when Wendy was finished the sun had set long ago and stars were rising to greet the moon. Lucy's eyes twinkled with curiosity. "Wait, so one more time. Your mother is a sky dragon named Grandine-"<p>

"Y-yeah."

"Who taught you airbending-"

"Mhm."

"And disappeared when you were _four_ years old and you stumbled upon the Eastern Air Temple?"

"T-that's about it, yes."

Lucy blinked and rested her elbows on her knees. There really was no polite way to respond to that. What was she supposed to say, _Oh, your entire nation was murdered viciously in a genocide and you miraculously survived? Good for you!_ Well, it's not like shewould _actually_ say that, but nothing seemed like a good response at the moment.

"S-since I was t-taught airbending by a dragon, and I'm the only one who c-can," she stammered," I-I thought it w-would be a good idea to teach the Avatar.."

Wendy's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She immediately nodded. "That's a wonderful idea, Wendy!" Then her inner thoughts promptly began to scream at her. Natsu had attended a Fire Nation academy when he was around Wendy's age, and it ended terribly. Let's just say that within the first thirty minutes half the school was on fire and several students were being rushed to the hospital. Then again, she was the only chance they had. She stood up and held out her hand. "C'mon. I bet the others are getting worried." Wendy nodded slowly and took it. Together they began their long hike back to the temple.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ayyyy I'm back :D<strong>

**So yee, here's Wendy. It wasn't really that much of a cliffhanger, was it? I'm sorry for the short chapter ., I was a bit rushed to finish it. But hey, the next one is going to be longer for you guys, cause we're gonna start airbending training soon! This is where it takes a slightly different turn than the show itself. They're going to spend, I dunno, maybe a few weeks training at the temple, then they're going to set sail to learn water and earth. Which reminds me, I have a question for you guys: Which element do you want to see next? I have some plans for his teachers, and I'm not sure how exactly to incorporate the North Pole and such into this. But as always, leave a review if you have ideas/questions/critiques! I've loved hearing from you guys and all these lovely reviews have given me an incentive to work harder on this story. Stay awesome!**

**Review Responses:**

**Sakura-Fiction: It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Thank you for your support! I'm still new to fanfics though, and I admire your writings much more than my own.**

**Reven 6666: Thank yee! Ding ding, another correct answer :D**

**Canadian Aspiring Author: Correct as well! As for the other two teachers, I would tell you, but that would be spoilers for the chapters to come. Levy and Jellal with thankfully make appearances at some point in the future, so we can get those ships to sail. As for King Bumi.. Hm, I'm not sure yet. But you're free to leave suggestions! Cabbage Man is going to make an appearance, whoever he may be, and Foaming Mouth Dude.. Let's just say he's 'Cool!'**

**Guest: Yes yes, we'll see much more of perverted Uncle Makarov later :) And yes, Gray can bend water, but he prefers to use ice, since his water skills aren't as developed. As for Gajeel.. *shrugs***

**Hope you all enjoyed!**

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	8. Chapter 8

When they finally made it back to the temple, night had already fallen, and darkness had taken over the area. All except where their friends sat, where a large fire was going and a pot filled with food was marinating. Gray and Natsu were, as usual, butting heads and seemed to be in the middle of a very heated argument. Erza was sitting quietly on one of the fallen pillars behind them, her arms crossed and constantly nodding in agreement to words exchanged by the two. She looked up and smiled at Lucy and Wendy, patting a place beside her. They quietly made their way past the two idiots and gratefully sank down next to Erza.

She looked at them, face a mixture of amusement and concern. "You were gone for quite a long time. Is everything all right?"

Lucy nodded quickly, pausing in between breaths. "Yeah, everything's cool." She turned to face the quarreling duo in front of her. "What did Natsu do?"

Erza followed her gaze and sighed, her face turning harsher. "They were just messing around, as usual, but then Natsu shouted something I honestly find highly unlikely. It seems Gray does as well." Lucy opened her mouth to ask what dull remark Natsu had made this time, but was interrupted by the shouting match that had increased in volume tenfold.

"I KNOW YOU'RE AN IDIOT PYRO, BUT I DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD BE THAT DENSE!" Gray shouted, pushing Natsu over a rock.

Natsu sprung up in reply, hurdling the rock to aim a fist at his cheek. "JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT DOESN'T MAKE IT NOT TRUE, STRIPPER!" He screeched back.

Gray blocked and butted his forehead into Natsu's. "BEING RAISED BY A DRAGON DOES NOT MAKE YOU INVINCIBLE, FLAME-BRAIN!"

Natsu grit his teeth and pushed him back. "WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE, ICE-PRICK? WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME FOR REAL SO I CAN PROVE IT TO YOU?"

"BRING IT ON, BASTA-"

"That's enough!" Lucy hollered, and the two turned to look at her. Erza was shaking her head, disappointment apparent on her face, and Wendy was huddled behind the pillar, her hands covering her ears. Natsu lowered his hands and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Oh, uh... Hiya Lu-"

"Don't 'hiya' me, stupid!" She yelled, putting her hands on her hips. "Wendy just came back and I do _not _want you two to drive her away again!"

Natsu puffed out his lip and crossed his arms. "But Luuuuce," he whinned, "Snowball doesn't belieeeeve me."

Lucy scowled at him and he backed away. She turned her hard gaze to Gray, who was edging away. "And don't think you're in the clear, either!" He gulped, and looked at the ground in shame. She lowered her voice and frowned. "Gray, what are you two fighting about this time?"

Gray coughed into his fist and stole a glance at Natsu. "Well, this as-" A glare from Lucy made him rethink his words. "_Natsu_ was being stupid and started shouting all this crap about eating fire and shooting it out of his mouth, which I argued was impossible."

Natsu huffed and turned to Lucy."Which is where he's _wrong_, because I can."

Gray scoffed and turned away. "As if."

Lucy cleared her throat. "Actually he's telling the truth." Gray gave her an incredulous look.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Lucy nodded, taking a breath to calm her temper. "Yeah, Natsu can prove it to you." Then her eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow. "Though I'm not sure why he didn't in the first place.." She muttered. Natsu grinned and turned to the campfire next to him. With all four pairs of eyes staring at him, he stepped towards it, and unflinchingly held his hand in the fire. Glancing at Gray, whose jaw had dropped a considerable amount, he gleefully scooped out a small ball of flames and sucked it up. Once the slurping noises subsided, he turned to Gray and shot a stream of fire towards him. Gray moved to the side just in time, and the fire disappeared behind him. Natsu waved his hands around.

"Tada!"

* * *

><p>Once real introductions were made and after every possible piece of information was exchanged between them, the moon was already high in the sky. Apparently eating things and breathing them out again was common among the dragons, because Wendy could do the same with air. After hearing she was an airbender, Natsu slammed his palm to his hand and grinned.<p>

"So the kid's gonna teach me airbending, huh?"

Wendy quickly nodded, and clenched her fists. "Aye!" she replied, a look of determination evident on her face. "That is, if you'll let me."

Natsu shifted on his rocky seat and laid his arm on her shoulders. "Yeah! You're the only chance we have, after all." Lucy twitched and frowned at him, but Wendy smiled and seemed not to mind. They all decided to start training in the morning, and they all separated to go find areas to sleep. Wendy went off to one of the towers, Erza and Gray climbed down onto one of the lower peaks, and Lucy and Natsu stayed by Igneel at the base of the main building. Lucy curled up on the ground near the shrinking fire, and tilted her head towards the disappearing figure of the airbender. She hoped she would be able to teach Natsu, because she was the only chance they had. Shuddering, she turned away and wrapped her arms around her shoulders to keep her body from freezing over. Not even a minute later, she had fallen into a quiet, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Erza's sleep was anything but dreamless. She kept having the same dream every night, and each night was more bizarre than the one before. Everything was abstract, like a moving painting, and she could barely make out anything. The first thing she would see was a large, blue tower, with spikes jutting out of its sides. Then the dream would shift and she would see faces spinning around her, giggling and dancing. The weirdest part of it all, however, were the voices ringing in her ears. Several different voices were all chanting at the same time, but they all said the same thing: <em>Scarlet<em>.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. Sweat was clinging to her body, and she let out a shaky breath. Trying to travel back to reality, she stood up and turned to her snoring brother. He was draped awkwardly on a rock, and drool was rolling down his chin. She beamed at him, stretching. Sunlight was pouring over the ridge they had slept under, blinding her as her eyes adjusted.

Gray's snoring came to an abrupt halt, and Erza turned her head to see him sitting up. He wiped his mouth and blinked at her. "Good morning," she smiled, walking towards him. He merely grunted in response, and stood up.

In a few minutes they had made their way back to the base of the tower, where Natsu's obnoxious snores told them he was still out cold. Gray stopped abruptly in front of Erza, and before she could do anything, he put his finger to his lips and let out a soft "Shhhhhhh!"

She peered around him and her eyes widened. Gray snickered and muttered something that would cause Lucy to blush furiously if she heard.

Lucy was curled up around the smoldering logs, a girly smile stuck on her face. Natsu, however, was sleeping right behind her with his arm draped across her waist and his face about a centimeter away from the back of her head. Gray took a step forwards, a sly smirk on his face. Before he could do anything though, Natsu shot up like a bullet, looking around. Lucy groggily sat up after him, rubbing her eyes. She groaned. "Is it morning already?"

Erza cleared her throat, deciding not to make the situation even more awkward. "Yes, although Gray and I were awake a while ago."

Lucy scratched her arms and yawned. "Oh? Sorry," she said, standing up and stretching her back.

Erza waved her off. "While you two are getting ready to face the day, I'm going to go and set up some breakfast."

Lucy realized she hadn't eaten any of the food Erza prepared last night, and her stomach began to grumble irritably. She smiled a bit and blinked away her sleepiness. "Yeah! That would be great, thank you."

Erza nodded in reply, and grabbed Gray's arm, tugging him along. "Gray, you're coming with me. I assume that isn't a problem?" Gray's eyes widened and he stopped snickering, shaking his head rapidly. She smiled. "Good," then, turning to Lucy and Natsu, she continued. "See you in a bit."

Lucy massaged her muscles and let out a long sigh, feeling the tension built up in them. Then she clapped her hands together as an idea sprung into her mind. "I know! I'll take a bath! I could've sworn I saw a nice pond when I was looking for Wendy." She waved goodbye to Igneel and ran down one of the paths spiraling around the backside of the main tower. Little did she know that she was being followed..

* * *

><p>It took her longer than she would like to admit to find the place she was looking for. The air temple had millions of paths that led to different places, and most of the time she would just walk in circles. But after about fifteen minutes of just wandering aimlessly, she found it. There was a small waterfall that landed in a pond that was somewhat hidden in the cliffside, and a small dent in the bottom kept it from overflowing. She smiled and immediately washed her clothes out and slipped in. The water was a mixture of cold and hot air, and she sighed contently, closing her eyes. "Ahhhhhhhh. This feels niiiiice."<p>

There was a small sound of splashing next to her, and a voice agreed. "Yeah Luce, it does." Lucy nodded, smiling. A few moments later, her eyes snapped open, and she slowly turned her head to see who had joined her. To her horror, it was her partner.

Without a shirt.

Or pants.

She screamed and swung her hand as hard as she could, launching him out of the pond. She scrambled out as well, diving behind a rock to where her clothes were drying, her face getting redder and redder by the second.

"OW!" came the yell, and Natsu stood up, rubbing his face. "What the hell was that for?"

Lucy shooed him away. "Don't ask me what the hell that was for! You know _exactly_ why I did that!"

Natsu stood up, looking at her irritably. "No I don't! Why would I ask you why if I knew what I did wrong?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Besides-" he started, walking towards her.

"Don't you _dare_ come over here, Natsu Dragneel!" she squealed, covering herself. "When someone is taking a bath, you _do not_ get into the bath with them."

Natsu frowned, stopping. "Well that sounds stupid."

"It does not! Stop being an idiot and go away!" she yelled, ducking back behind the rock.

"Fine!" he snapped, turning away and marching up the stairs. Lucy sighed in relief, and after hearing his footsteps fade away, she pulled on her clean clothes and stared longingly at the pond. "I'll be back," she murmured, jogging back up the stairs.

She could smell Erza's cooking before she and Gray even came into view, and Lucy's mouth watered. Whatever it was they were cooking, it wasn't fish.

She ran into the clearing, to see Erza decked out in a chef's hat and apron, stirring something in a bowl, with a stove-looking area laid out over the fire. How she got all that stuff, Lucy had no idea. She heard some commotion and sighed when she saw Gray and Natsu arguing about something pointless in the corner. Lucy looked around and walked over to Erza. Trying not to drool everywhere, she asked. "Hey, have you seen Wendy anywhere?"

Erza looked up and shook her head. "I can't say that I have. I'm sure she'll come along eventually." Lucy shrugged and leaned over to see the contents of the pot. "So, what are you ma-" Erza quieted her with a thwap on the head with her stirring stick.

"Wait your turn Lucy! I'm not finished yet." She commanded, blocking it from view. Lucy's stomach grumbled, and she slumped over, walking over to where Natsu and Gray were fighting. She leaned over, staring at the ground.

An eternity passed when Erza called. "It's ready!" Lucy leapt up, but she was quickly trampled by Gray and Natsu, who seemed to have quickly gotten over their differences. They stampeded over to Erza's cooking area, where she was laying out circular shapes on a pan. "I made pancakes!" she announced.

* * *

><p>Erza's cooking was heavenly. For making fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, she was skilled. Lucy ended up asking for seconds and thirds soon after she ate her first. Natsu noticed her shoveling food into her mouth and gulped down his food.<p>

"You shouldn't eat that fast, Luce. It'll make you fat."

"SHUT UP!"

Small footsteps sounded on the ground behind them, and they turned to see Wendy making her way over to them. "Good morning Wendy!" she called, waving at her. Wendy smiled and sat down by them. Erza looked up.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show," she admitted, poking her food with her fork.

Wendy grinned sheepishly and scratched her head. "Sorry I took so long, I was just setting up."

Lucy turned to face her curiously. "Oh? Setting what up?"

Wendy grinned again. "It's a secret!"

Natsu stood up quickly, knocking his plate onto the floor much to Erza's dismay. "All right then! I'm fired up now!" Lucy sighed and pushed her plate away.

"I guess this means breakfast is over?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know I said training would start this chapter. Yes, I know I said it would be longer. I've been having some writers block this week, and since this was the last week of the trimester, I've been stressing about school and stuff. So yee, I'm really, really, really, really (x10) sorry about that. Next week I should be able to get much more out, and yes, training <em>will<em> actually begin next chapter.**

**Not the most action packed chapter, but on the bright side, we have some Nalu fluff, bonding and humor things, and lots of idiotic Natsu moments. **

**Review Responses:**

**Sakura-Fiction: Thanks for the support, as always! I just realized, Wendy's history is actually sadder in this than in the anime o-O. And yee, Gajeel will appear eventually and beat people up with his bending powers.**

**Canadian Aspiring Author: Thanks! Especially for the input, so I think I'll do it in the right order, I just need to align characters and stuff now. Jason is gonna be like an easter egg in this fanfic, so look forward to that.**

**And as always, I hope you enjoyed!**

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


	9. Chapter 9

After cleaning up their mess, the group left their supplies with Igneel and followed Wendy down a yet another path that spiraled outwards onto one of the peaks stretching out from the main tower. Natsu's head was racing with excitement, wondering what exactly Wendy had planned. He was itching to run in front of Wendy, to see what they were going to do first, but he figured he'd wait, since he was _supposed_ to respect her. She was teaching him, after all.

They rounded the corner and Wendy smiled, stretching her arms. "Here we are!" Natsu's hope and excitement drained out of him, replaced by confusion. Judging by the silent response from the others, he guessed they felt the same way.

"Uhhh," Lucy started, trying her best not to sound rude. "What are we looking at exactly?" There were several poles of various sizes sticking at the ground, with goal posts sticking out at two of the sides. It was obviously a game of some sort, but as for how you were supposed to play it, she had no idea.

Wendy put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the area, noting a few rotting logs that had fallen into disrepair. "It's called airball. It's a game a lot of the airbenders used to play," she stated, airbending herself up onto one of the poles. "Though it may not seem like it, it takes a lot of skill to play properly."

Natsu grinned. "Is that a challenge, squirt?" he asked, walking over to one of the shorter pegs. "I'll take you on!" he yelled, hoisting himself onto it. He promptly stood up, and immediately fell back onto the dusty ground.

Wendy laughed. "In order to actually play the game, you need to have a lot of dexterity and balance. Not only that, but you also need a certain amount of speed and accuracy to win." She stood on one leg, holding her arms out.

Natsu huffed and pushed himself of the ground. The others had taken seats next to the playing field, and were silently cheering him on. He massaged his arms and looked back at the top of the pole with a look of determination. Shimmying to the top of the pole, he slowly stood up, holding his arms out to balance. After he shifted his weight to the center, he lowered them and looked at Wendy, seriousness lining his face.

She smiled, hands resting on her hips once more. "Good job. Of course, if you could airbend, you could just propel yourself up here, but nonetheless this is only day one."

Lucy blinked. Wendy's shy and timid nature seemed to have completely vanished, and she was being harsher with Natsu. Perhaps she had realized that was the only way for him to learn anything.

Natsu frowned, mumbling. "Sheesh, at least I _tried_, woman."

Wendy pretended not to hear him. "Anyway, the first part of your training is to play me in airball, to work on some of the qualities that make airbenders what they are. Mainly balance, agility, and flexibility. I'm not the best at airball, but I'll do what I can to train you in the ways of my nation.

A stream of air swirled from her palm, and a wooden ball resting on one of the goal posts shot into her hand. She tossed it up and down a few times. "Natsu," she said seriously. "Are you ready to begin your training?"

Natsu clenched his fist, thinking back on all the destruction that was caused while he was asleep. The road to learn and master all four elements was going to be nowhere near an easy task, but he didn't care. It was his duty to protect the world, and he planned to do what he could.

He held it up, and grinned seriously. Which isn't really possible, but he made it work.

* * *

><p>Since it was the first day of training and all, Natsu figured Wendy would go easy on him, even though she "wasn't the best" at airball. He was wrong. That girl was a <em>beast<em> on the field. Not even a split-second after him speaking, she launched the ball towards him, going against the rules. It nailed him in the chest, sending him flying back. He hit the goal post, and the ball somehow rolled over his face into the goal post.

"Wendy: 1, Pyro: 0!" Gray called, a grin on his face. Perhaps watching Natsu train wouldn't be so boring after all.

Natsu glared daggers at him, after climbing back onto a pole. "Shut up, Ice-freak!"

The ball hit him in the back, sending him onto another pole, and landed in Wendy's hand.  
>"Natsu!" she yelled, and he snapped his head around. "Focus! You need to pay more attention!"<p>

He sighed and readied himself for another attack. Wendy swirled the ball around her. "I'm not sure you realize this yet, Natsu, but if you're going to beat me you need to stop being stupid."

Natsu's eyes widened. He suddenly missed the timid girl from yesterday, and held his hands out, ready to catch the oncoming ball.

Wendy dropped her arms to her side, holding the ball in one hand. "Another thing that would help is being able to airbend."

Natsu's shoulders slumped. "But I can't airbend ye-"

Wendy shushed him. "That's what I'm trying to teach you. The only way to stop this ball from nailing you in an uncomfortable place is to block it with air. So do it."

Natsu huffed and puffed out his lip. He narrowed his eyes, watching Wendy closely. She launched the ball at him yet again, although this time he ducked as it zipped over his head. He grinned. "You mi-" he was shushed by the force of the ball smacking him in the back.

Wendy sighed, crossing her arms. "You're too predictable Natsu." He sat down on the pole in frustration. Losing some of the strict attitude, Wendy smiled a bit. "How about we work on something a bit easier first? Like your balance?" Natsu sighed in relief. They had only been training for about ten minutes, and sweat was already clinging to his body. He wiped some off his forehead and nodded.

"Sounds good."

Wendy tossed the ball onto the ground. "Right then. As I said before, one of the key characteristics of an airbender is their agility and balance. Quite frankly, you need to work a lot on both." Natsu scowled and stood up, clapping his hands together. "You're aware of the game called 'Tag', right?" Wendy asked. Natsu nodded. She bounded across the poles towards him and tapped his shoulders. "You're it."

* * *

><p>Natsu had loved tag since he was young. Chasing the other kids always made him feel alive somehow. Playing with Wendy was just a little bit different though. She was like a gazelle, leaping from pole to pole while he stumbled after her. He'd fallen quite a few times, and each time she would propel him back up and tell him they weren't going to finish until he caught her.<p>

Lucy and the others had disappeared a while ago; probably going off to explore the temple. They had taken a few breaks, usually about five minutes, but Wendy wouldn't let him have a minute longer. By the time the others had returned, the sun had already arced across the sky and was setting behind the temple.

Lucy's eyes widened when she saw him still on the poles. "Natsu? Have you been training the _entire_ day?"

Natsu looked at her, blinking and realizing just how sore his muscles were. Even so, his face was lined with confusion. "The entire day? It's only noon." He looked up at the sky, and realization dawned on his face. "Oh," he simply said, dumbfounded.

Erza turned to Wendy, who was standing patiently next to Natsu. "It's imperative that Natsu learns airbending, but don't you think you're being a tiny bit harsh?"

Wendy shook her head. "Normally I would, but this is to help Natsu learn."

Natsu leaned back, his palms on the pole beneath him. He rubbed his muscles, sighing. "Nah, Wendy's fine."

Lucy frowned, worry apparent on her face. "You sure?" Natsu nodded.

Wendy stretched tapping on his shoulder. "One more round today, Natsu. Then we can continue tomorrow."

Natsu pumped his fist, grinning. "Aye!" He stood up as Wendy bounded away. He ran after her, trying to cut her off. This was usually how it went. He would chase her to one end, then she would airbend herself over him and run to the other side. Natsu grit his teeth. If he was going to catch her, he would need to be faster. Sprinting from log to log, he launched towards her, nearly grabbing her shoulders. She dove out of the way in the nick of time, smiling.

"You're getting better!" she called from beside him, standing up and running to the other side. "But you need to be faster!"

He frowned and straightened his scarf, running towards her again. She leaped out of the way, wondering why he would try the same tactic yet again. He outstretched an arm, yet again barely missing her. She flew directly over him, using his head to boost her.

Lucy glanced at the sky. The sun was going to set soon.

Natsu closed his eyes, deep in thought. One of the many things he didn't like was losing. Maybe there was something he was doing wrong. His brow furrowed in concentration. How was he supposed to catch someone quicker and more agile than him? His mind raced back to when he enrolled in a Fire Nation school, when they had a lesson on the Air Nomads.

What had the professor said then? They worked differently than the rest of the world, that was for sure, and usually solved their difficulties by finding peace and freedom.

Peace and freedom.. Natsu didn't hear that word used much in the Fire Nation. Everything was different there. It was all precise, orderly. Especially at the Firelord's castle. Every minute of the day was planned out in his life there, and not a second was to be wasted. His eyes widened and they shot open. Maybe that was why he hadn't been able to airbend yet.

He stared at Wendy, a new determination coursing through his veins. She looked at him curiously, wondering what he had come up with. Without a moment of hesitation, he shot towards her. She stepped back in surprise, nearly falling off the back of the pole. Natsu's movements had changed from before. She was unable to guess where he would run next, because his steps were less calculated. And more.. free.

Her eyes widened when he was right in front of her. She grit her teeth and launched backwards, but Natsu propelled himself towards her, sending her stumbling off of the pole to the ground. Just before she hit the dirt, however, a jet of wind shot her upwards. Right towards Natsu's outstretched arm.

"You're it!" he yelled triumphantly, landing on the ground next to her. She stared in shock at the spot on her arm where he had touched her. There were cheers from behind them and the others ran over.

"Good job, Natsu!" Lucy cheered, appearing behind his shoulder. Erza nodded in approval and patted his shoulder. Gray didn't say anything, but a mix of emotions shined in his eyes. Wendy smiled, all surprise gone.

"You did it Natsu!" she congratulated, losing her dark demeanor. He grinned at her. "Your first stage of training is already finished, and only in one day."

Natsu's grin grew, and he pumped a fist. "Hell yeah! Fire Lord, here I come!" After that outburst, he promptly fell over.

Erza smiled. "You've been working hard all day Natsu, I suggest you sleep in."

Wendy rushed over to him. "O-oh my goodness! I-I didn't overwork you d-did I?"

Lucy sweatdropped. "Uh, no?" Wendy was back to her normal, timid self. "But he was training all day long."

Wendy looked at him sheepishly. "O-oh! I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to.."

Lucy shrugged it off. "No, really Wendy. You did fine. Natsu learned a lot today thanks to you."

She poked her fingers together. "Well, at least let me help him," she said, holding out her hands. They began to glow a greenish color, and Natsu's body seemed to grow less tense.

Gray's jaw dropped. "Can all airbenders do that?"

"Nope."

Lucy sighed. "I'm not even going to ask."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ayyy first day of training is over! Wendy is a sassy kid, I'll tell you that. Yes, I realize I made her a bit OOC, but it was one of the only ways to get training moving. I do realize that the goal of airball is to actually get the ball into the hoop, but I figured Wendy beating up Natsu would be more fun. Still not as satisfied as I feel I should be with these chapters, but hey, I think I did okay. Thank you all for all the support you've given to this story so far. I'm motivated to continue this story thanks to all of you. I hope you continue to enjoy!<strong>

**Review Responses:**

**Canadian Aspiring Author: Thank you for the four reviews you've given me! And yee, I figured Natsu wouldn't be Natsu without his magical abilities. I hope you like this chapter :D**

**And as always, I hope you enjoyed!**


	10. Chapter 10

Erza sat up quickly, wiping the sweat off her brow. It had been at least a week since they had come to the temple, and the dreams were getting more surreal every night. She looked up to see her companions sleeping peacefully. Upon further inspection, however, she noticed the crumpled up and empty form of Natsu's sleeping bag. Halting her breathing for a moment she could make out a sound different than the usual wind chimes. She stood up and tiptoed down to the airball court, blinking away the sunlight.

After the morning rays faded out of her vision, she narrowed her eyes and watched the two figures on the poles play. She had guessed Natsu was getting up before everyone else to train with Wendy, but she didn't suspect he would be up this early. He had obviously woken up minutes before, with his pink hair frazzled in a bedhead and lumbering movements. Wendy seemed as energetic as ever, and she was throwing the airball at him.

No, that wasn't it. She was throwing it into the pegs, where it would bounce everywhere and launch towards the goal on Natsu's side. He had improved in his airbending a lot since they came. Every time the ball would shoot towards his goal with a stroke of his arm he would shoot it back into the pole from whence it came, and bounce it back towards Wendy.

Natsu was breathing heavily, but he seemed not to mind, because he was grinning that same childish grin and chuckling to himself. She smiled. At the rate he was learning, they would be able to leave the air temple in a few weeks.

She sat down at the end of the field, crossing her legs. A few more minutes later, she heard Gray and Lucy joining her.

Lucy rubbed her eyes, which had dark circles under them. "What time is it?"

Erza gestured to the battling duo in front of her. "Training time, apparently. Natsu has been awake since dawn."

Lucy followed her gaze to her pink-haired companion. "Huh," she stated, yawning. "Well, if you need me, I'm gonna go back to bed."

Erza nodded in reply and a naked Gray took a seat next to her. "So," he started, eying Natsu as he hit the ball back towards Wendy, "When do you think we'll be able to leave the temple?"

Erza merely shrugged in reply, crossing her arms and continuing to watch them closely. Her eyes flicked between the two, watching each stroke of movement they preformed. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Natsu stumble. "That's strange," she noted, her voice flat.

Gray raised an eyebrow and coughed accusingly. "What? Maybe Pyro just isn't as good as he thinks he is," he retorted dryly.

Erza shook her head, crossing her arms and ignoring his comment. "Natsu didn't stumble at all yesterday, nor did he before this."

Gray let out a 'hmph' in reply and watched Natsu as he regained his balance.

* * *

><p>Natsu mentally cursed when his foot slipped off of the peg. All morning long his head had been swamped with images from nightmare he'd had last night. Why had he just had it now, when the incident happened about a week ago? He grit his teeth and shook it away. If he was going to beat the Fire Lord, he needed to focus. Wendy had paused when he fell, but her glare returned when he straightened. She sent the ball streaking towards the pole he was standing on, causing it to rattle irritatedly. He swept his arm up before the ball could bounce away, and waved it away from him. The ball shot towards Wendy, who lept to a pole behind her before stopping it with her hand.<p>

"Good," she praised, leaping down from the pole. "Let's take a breakfast break, shall we?"

Natsu slumped gratefully onto the wooden pole below him. He groaned in realization when his sore muscles settled onto the wood. He swung his legs over the side and jumped down, walking over to Erza and Gray.

Erza had a hint of a smile on her face, her arms crossed. She stood up, walking over to him. "I'm very impressed, Natsu. You've improved greatly in just a few days."

Gray snorted, arms tucked behind his head. "Mhm."

Natsu shot him an accusing glare. "Is there something you wanna say to me, Stripper?"

Surprisingly, Gray just turned away, much to Natsu's irritation.

Wendy casually walked over to them. She turned to Erza. "So- uh, I-I heard you made a-amazing pancakes Erza. I-I was wondering, i-if t isn't too much trouble-"

Erza cut her off, smiling. "Of course I'll make some, Wendy. It's the least I can do, after all."

Wendy smiled back, her eyes lighting up in excitement. Then she sweatdropped.

Within a second of finishing her promise to Wendy, Erza had changed her demeanor and had turned to scold Natsu and Gray, who were going at it again. She bashed their heads together. "Enough!" she shouted, grabbing them with her armored-hands. "Do you always fight when I turn my back?" she asked calmly, a hidden threat laced in her words.

Natsu and Gray shook their heads quickly. "N-no ma'am!" they stammered, hugging each other.

Erza smiled, nodding. "That's good."

They proceeded to start idle conversations, forgetting about breakfast for a moment. That is, until part of the air temple behind them exploded.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Eyyyyy that cliffhanger tho. I would like to apologize for several things. One, this chapter is way shorter than what I usually write. I would've written more, but after half of it was deleted, I had to completely rewrite it. Two, it's Sunday, and I was supposed to update yesterday. I'm so so so sorry for that; I was extremely busy yesterday. Also, I'd like to apologize for next week's update. Seeing as I have three tests, a major project, and fifty million assignments due next week, I'm afraid I will not be able to get the chapter out on Saturday. No, this story will not be going on hiatus just yet. I still have hope for the future, because Spring Break is coming soon! So yee, please forgive me. *bows*<strong>

**Also, I realize the temple didn't explode in the show, but you'll see why it did next chapter. Part of the story will have to be different, especially seeing as it's the FT crew. I will save review responses for next chapter, so I can get more done. Not that I don't look at them, because I absolutely explode with joy when I read your feedback. Do not worry, for this story will not die yet!**

**Until next time,**

**Ciao, SpuSpu**


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